The US public health system is headed to a “very dangerous place” with health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and his team of anti-vaccine advisers in charge, alleged Susan Monarez, the recently fired chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Describing extraordinary turmoil inside American health agencies, Monarez said during a US Senate committee hearing that Kennedy, a longtime vaccine sceptic, and his political advisers repeatedly rebuffed data supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Monarez, who was ousted 29 days into her tenure at the CDC, also accused Kennedy of firing her after she refused to endorse forthcoming vaccine recommendations without reviewing scientific evidence to support the guidance.
Her testimony was given to the Senate's health committee just a day before an advisory CDC panel is set to consider major changes to the routine vaccinations recommended for children in the United States.
That panel is expected to vote this week on new recommendations on shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B, and chickenpox.
Monarez said in her testimony that Kennedy had given her an ultimatum: “Preapprove” new vaccine recommendations from the advisory panel – which Kennedy has stocked with some medical experts who doubt vaccine safety – or be fired.
Kennedy also demanded Monarez fire high-ranking, career CDC officials without cause, she said.
“He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign. I responded that I could not preapprove recommendations without reviewing the evidence, and I had no basis for firing," Monarez told senators.
Monarez's revelations to senators raised serious questions, even among some Republicans, about Kennedy's self-professed commitment to employ “gold-standard science” for developing public health guidance.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the powerful health committee Monarez appeared before, expressed scepticism over the explanations Kennedy has given over her firing.
While Cassidy carefully praised US President Donald Trump for his commitment to promoting health among Americans, he noted that senators had just approved Monarez's confirmation weeks earlier, with Kennedy praising her “unimpeachable scientific credentials”.
“Like, what happened?" Cassidy said. “Did we fail? Was there something we should have done differently?”
Some Republicans continued to cast doubts on Wednesday about Monarez's account of her exchanges with Kennedy, firmly throwing their support behind the health secretary.
A spokesperson for Kennedy did not provide a response to Monarez's testimony. In a post on X thanking a Republican senator for support during the hearing, Kennedy said “we will earn back Americans’ trust and refocus the CDC on its core mission”.
