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Former top officials from the CDC have alleged Robert F Kennedy Jr of hobbling the country’s capacity to react to disease surges and medical threats.

Statements Before Congressional Panel

Two former officials testified at a session before the Senate HELP panel on Wednesday. Susan Monarez, the CDC director selected by Kennedy, was fired after less than a 30 days. Debra Houry, chief medical officer at the CDC, stepped down after serving under six CDC directors during both Republican and Democrat administrations.

Allegations of Pressure and Interference

On 25 August, Kennedy reportedly insisted that Monarez “agree in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation, regardless of the scientific evidence”, she testified. He also instructed her to dismiss longtime officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause, she added.

“Kennedy stated if I was unwilling to do both, I should step down. I replied that I could not pre-endorse guidelines without reviewing the evidence, and I had no basis to fire research professionals,” Monarez thinks that’s the true reason she was fired.

Kennedy was “very upset” and “tense” in their meeting. He referred of the CDC and its staff in a “damaging and disrespectful” manner, Monarez testified.

“He labeled, in that setting, CDC the most corrupt federal agency in the world. He stressed that CDC employees were terrible people. He said that CDC employees were killing children, and they aren’t concerned.”

Risk to Immunization Availability

Monarez added that based on her experience, “there is a genuine risk that guidelines could be made limiting access to vaccines for children and individuals in need, without thorough scientific review. With no full-time CDC director in place, those recommendations could be implemented.”

She continued: “The consequences are not theoretical. We have already seen the biggest measles outbreak in over 30 years, which took the lives of two children. If vaccine protections are undermined, avoidable diseases will return.”

Also on 25 August, Monarez stated Kennedy told her “the childhood vaccine timetable would be adjusted starting in September, and I needed to be on board with it”. She claimed Kennedy had the backing of the former administration, with Kennedy claiming to her that “he spoke to the President every day about altering the childhood vaccine schedule”.

ACIP Session and Worries

The CDC’s vaccine expert panel, ACIP, which has been substituted with Kennedy’s selected consultants, is scheduled to meet on Thursday and Friday. Bill Cassidy, a Republican lawmaker from Louisiana who leads the committee, recently called for an delay of the ACIP meeting.

“Should the session go ahead, any guidelines made should be dismissed as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current instability in CDC leadership,” Cassidy, who is a physician, remarked.

ACIP will allegedly take up a vote on the existing guideline that the hepatitis B vaccine be given at birth.

“People know I’m a doctor – as it turns out I am a liver specialist,” Cassidy noted. “I have seen people succumb from hepatitis.”

Over 90% of children infected at birth develop chronic infections and risk hepatic malignancy, he explained.

“Since we’ve controlled it, do we reverse progress if the recommendation is removed?” Cassidy asked.

Political Influence and Censorship

Debra Houry also stated to seeing external pressure and said she “resigned because CDC leaders were reduced to automatic approvals, backing policies not based in science, and endangering American lives at risk.” She said Kennedy “censored CDC science, biased its processes and removed leaders of independence.”

Approximately 80% of department heads are now acting because career officials have been dismissed, quit or retired, Houry explained.

Violence and Security Issues

These unprecedented changes come as the CDC and its employees face violence and threats. On August 8, a shooter fired more than 500 rounds on the CDC headquarters, with 180 bullets striking the building. Houry said her staff was “traumatized”.

Kennedy did not call Monarez after the shooting, Monarez stated. Such violence following decades of misinformation and harassment of health experts has sweeping repercussions. Some CDC staff will now not put their names on scientific reports on vaccines to safeguard themselves and their families.

Leadership Failure and National Wellness Danger

Houry initially discovered that Kennedy had changed the CDC’s Covid vaccine guidance in a social media update.

“CDC scientists have yet not seen the research evidence or justification for this change,” she emphasized.

Houry testified that she has never briefed the secretary, nor have her center directors – even as the worst measles outbreak in decades unfolded. She also objected on inaccurate claims from the secretary: “He claimed things like vaccines had embryonic tissue, and I had to send a note to our leadership team to correct that misinformation. We were also asked to include things like budesonide and clarithromycin in our resources for physicians, and I couldn’t allow that, as there was no evidence for that and would cause harm.”

The new restrictions on Covid vaccines have led to chaos with the updated vaccine distribution, though Kennedy stated before the finance committee that “anybody can get the booster.”

“My mom lives in Virginia, and she was unable to get it,” Houry shared.

The HHS also meddled with information about thiomersal, a additive proven to be safe, and allowed an “unvetted presentation” on thimerosal to occur in the June ACIP meeting, she testified.

“That kind of rushed alteration undermines confidence and the discussions that follow,” Houry said.

The vaccine advisers ultimately voted to prohibit thimerosal, which is used in about 4% of flu vaccines in the US. If vaccine-preventable diseases are allowed to continue rising, “it will be heartbreaking,” Houry said.

Houry added that she’s “worried about the future of CDC and public health in our country.

“We are not ready, not just for pandemics, but for preventing long-term illness, and we’re going to see kids succumbing of vaccine-preventable diseases,” she added.

Summary

Kennedy said in the finance committee hearing that Monarez told him she was not reliable. Monarez then said in Wednesday’s hearing: “He told me he could not trust me because I had shared information related to our conversation beyond his staff. I told him, if you cannot trust me, then you can fire me.”

The matter under debate on Wednesday went beyond the circumstances of Monarez’s and Houry’s exit, said senator Bernie Sanders.

“This concerns Secretary Kennedy’s harmful war on science, public health and the truth itself. It is ridiculous to have to say this in the year 2025, but vaccines are safe and effective.”