WASHINGTON (AP) – Susan Monares, Shooting Center for Disease Control and Prevention, tells the senator health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A copy of the testimony scheduled for Wednesday’s hearing said it was pressured to support new vaccine recommendations before looking at scientific evidence.
According to a copy of the prepared remarks obtained Tuesday by the Associated Press, Monares tells the senator that Kennedy gave her the ultimate. Controversial Advisory CDC Panel Kennedy stocks medical professionals who have suspected vaccine safety or are fired. That panel is expected to vote for new vaccine recommendations later this week.
Monales was initially hand-picked by Kennedy and appointed President Donald Trump, but was fired weeks later over disagreements over vaccine policy. She will appear before the Senate’s strong health committee to discuss her firing.
“Even under pressure, I could not replace the evidence with ideology or compromise my integrity,” Monales says in her opening testimony to the Senate. “Vaccination policies must lead to reliable data rather than pre-determined results.”
She said she was “dismissed for keeping a line on scientific integrity.”
Monales also pointed out that Kennedy had directed her to fire many high-ranking CDC staff without reason.
The Senate hearing will focus on the health of children, focusing on the impact on the disruption of one of the nation’s leading public health agencies responsible for making vaccine recommendations to the public. It will also undoubtedly serve as an opportunity for Monares and former chief medical officer Debra Howey to testify before the committee.
Kennedy I denied Monales accused that he ordered a “rubber” vaccine recommendation.
He said that Monares admitted to him that she was “unreliable.” However, he admitted during a Senate hearing earlier this month that he ordered Monares to fire some senior officials from the CDC.
The Senate hearing takes place one day before the vaccine panel begins its two-day session in Atlanta and discusses shots against Covid-19, hepatitis B and Chicken Pox. Members have questioned whether a shot of hepatitis B administered to newborns is necessary, suggesting that Covid-19 recommendations should be more limited, but it is unclear how the panel will vote for the recommendations.
CDC directors should support these recommendations before they become official. Deputy Director of Health and Welfare Jim O’Neill, Currently, I am responsible for being acting director of the CDC.
Monarez and Houry are expected to face tension questions from Republicans about the CDC’s vaccine recommendations and Covid-19 policies. Meanwhile, Democrats may be asking for more information about Kennedy’s approach to vaccines.
Health Board hearings will be supervised Republican Senator Bill Cassidy Louisiana, the doctor who voted importantly to confirm Kennedy. He expressed concern about “serious allegations” at the CDC and called for oversight without denunciling Kennedy.
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The contributions were Mike Stobbe, the Associated Press writers of New York and Laurent Neegard of Washington.
