Former officials from the U.S. health agency expressed serious concerns on Sunday about the potential “destruction” of public health policy, particularly regarding vaccinations, under President Donald Trump’s administration, which they allege has “ideologized” science and politicized health matters.
A rift has surfaced between Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a skeptic of vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national health agency he oversees. This conflict intensified following the announcement this week of the firing of director Susan Monarez, less than a month after she assumed her role.
Dmitri Daskalakis, the head of vaccination policy and respiratory disease prevention at the CDC, also resigned, joining several other senior officials in stepping down.
In an interview with ABC News, Daskalakis stated, “I’ve been worried for months.” He remarked, “I never imagined the line between science and ideology would completely collapse.”
Monarez’s attorney revealed that she refused to endorse “non-scientific and dangerous directives” put forth by the vaccine-skeptical health secretary.
The Washington Post reported that the White House plans to appoint Jim O’Neill, a close advisor to Robert Kennedy Jr. and a former tech sector financier, as the interim director following Monarez’s dismissal.
Daskalakis highlighted that “the lack of scientific leadership at the CDC means we won’t be able to negotiate with the Health Department to implement effective public health policies.”
Tom Frieden, who led the CDC from 2009 to 2017 during Barack Obama’s presidency, expressed even greater concern, stating that “public health is under attack.”
In comments to CNN regarding Monarez, who was appointed by Kennedy just weeks prior, Frieden said, “What we are witnessing is unprecedented. Never before has a CDC official been fired.”
Frieden added, “It is no longer possible to trust what comes from the Health Department or the CDC.” He also criticized the “significant damage done to anti-smoking campaigns and improvements in tap water quality,” along with the dismantling of vaccination infrastructure.
He concluded, “They are destroying our protective health measures. We are becoming less safe.”