Major changes are underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) following President Trump’s and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s dismissal of director Susan Monarez and the subsequent resignations of four senior officials in protest over the removal of Monarez.
Resigning were the chief medical officer and deputy director for programs and science, Debra Houry; director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Demetre Daskalakis; director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Daniel Jernigan; and director of the Office of Public Health, Data Science, and Technology, Jennifer Layden.
President Donald Trump weighed in with a September 1 post on his X account.
“It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs,” wrote Trump. “Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree! With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW.”
‘Knew the Gig Was Up’
Robert Malone, a Trump appointee to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), took to X to state his position on the shakeup.
“The real reason for the recent CDC resignations is that the ACIP Subcommittee on COVID-19 vaccines got approval to investigate the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines, and they knew the gig was up, the truth was about to come out, and they would have to account for their actions,” Malone wrote. “All you need to do is read the recently approved “terms of reference” for that subcommittee and it all becomes clear.”
‘Lot of Gaslighting’
ACIP member Retsef Levi provided a statement in an interview with journalist Maryanne Demasi.
“It was their unwillingness to examine the issue of vaccine injuries,” said Levi. “To me, recognizing vaccine injuries and vaccine-injured people is a foundational component of any successful vaccine program. You need to care for the people that trusted your system and were unfortunately injured as a result. We have seen a lot of gaslighting and leaving the vaccine-injured out to dry.”
Levi also said the CDC leadership, especially Daskalakis, had been locked in an intense tug of war with ACIP, attempting to populate the group with CDC loyalists and strictly limit its review authority.
‘Agency Is in Trouble’
The White House tapped Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to lead the CDC until the president names a permanent director, which he must do by March 2026. O’Neill can serve for 210 days before having to receive confirmation by the Senate, under the CDC Leadership Accountability Act enacted during the Biden administration.
HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said the CDC needs new direction in a Fox and Friends interview.
“I cannot comment on personnel issues, but the agency is in trouble, and we need to fix it—and we are fixing it—and it may be that some people should not be working there anymore,” said Kennedy. “So, we need to look at the priorities of the agency, if there’s really a deeply, deeply embedded, I would say, malaise at the agency, and we need strong leadership that will go in there, and that will be able to execute on President Trump’s broad ambitions.”
‘Preserve Incentives’
Although vaccines are an essential element of U.S. health care, government agencies cannot dismiss safety and efficacy concerns, says Sally Pipes, president, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in health care policy at the Pacific Research Institute.
“Vaccines are among the greatest achievements in medical history,” said Pipes. “They’ve saved millions of lives. According to the CDC, ACIP considers many factors before recommending any vaccine, including safety and effectiveness. I can’t speak to the motivations of the CDC officials who resigned. What matters is that vaccines remain overwhelmingly safe, effective, and indispensable for keeping Americans healthy. It’s crucial that public policy preserve incentives for investors and researchers to fund the research and development of new vaccines.”
‘Its Coverups Are Criminal’
A critical look at CDC’s leadership team is long overdue, says Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.
“It seems as though the CDC has lost all claim to scientific objectivity and is bought and paid for by financial interests,” said Orient. “Public agencies’ refusal to acknowledge severe adverse [vaccine] effects and its coverups are criminal.”
Orient also addressed CDC leadership’s attempts to undermine ACIP review authority.
“If the ACIP is not supposed to look into safety and efficacy, what is it for?” said Orient. “I think Levi and Malone are right.”
‘Deeply Imbedded Interests’
Malone is right to bring attention to the CDC leadership’s resistance to objective review of vaccine safety, says John Droz, a physicist and author of the Media Balance newsletter.
“Dr. Malone is usually on target,” said Droz. “The stridency of the vaccine advocates, and especially those of the mRNA vaccines, indicates deeply embedded interests in the regulatory agencies. The reality is that mRNA is not really a vaccine in the classic sense, but should be viewed as a different technology.
As a new technology, mRNA requires especially thorough scrutiny, says Droz.
“It’s unconscionable that many corners appear to have been cut under the emergency use authorization,” said Droz. “Given that the scientific footing behind experimental mRNA vaccines was less secure, more respect should have been given to objections to vaccine requirements. Manufacturers and regulatory agencies should have been more honest with the public rather than claiming safety and efficacy that were, in fact, poorly understood.”
Kevin Stone ([email protected]) writes from Arlington, Texas.
