New York (AP) – When the White House was fired Susan Monares As director of the best public health department in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The political interference has not ended, and it’s time to stop.
“We knew… if she left, she would no longer have scientific leadership,” one of the officials, Dr. Debra Howey told The Associated Press on Thursday.
“We were going to see if she could survive the storm, and when she wasn’t there, we were done,” said Houry, one of at least four CDC leaders who resigned this week. She was the agency’s Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer.
The White House confirmed late Wednesday that Monares was fired for “not all” because they were “away.” President Donald Trump He refused to agenda and resign. She was I swear Not a month ago.
Trump’s Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.appeared in “Fox & Friends” and declined to comment directly on the CDC shakeup. However, he said he continues to be concerned about CDC officials who will protect the administration’s health policy.
“So we need to look at the agency’s priorities. If it’s really deep and deeply embedded, I think the agency has disagreement,” Kennedy said. “And we need strong leadership to go there and we will be able to carry out President Trump’s wide ambitions.”
Monares’ lawyers said that fire is not legal and that she will not resign – she was informed of the fire by staff at the Presidential Personnel Affairs Office, and said that only Trump himself could fire her. Monares has not commented.
Former acting CDC director Dr. Richard Besser said he vowed to do nothing when he flew in the face of illegality or science when he was speaking to Monares on Wednesday. She had rejected an order from the Department of Health and Human Services to fire the management team.
She also does not automatically sign off to recommendations from Vaccine Advisory Committee Currently, Besser, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is hand-picked by Kennedy.
Houry and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis have resigned as directors of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, saying Monares tried to ensure that scientific safeguards were in place.
Some people are concerned about an advisory committee on vaccination practices and a group of external experts making recommendations to CDC directors on how to use the vaccine. This recommendation will then be adopted by doctors, school systems, health insurance companies, and more.
Kennedy is a longtime leader in the anti-vaccine movement, and in June he suddenly rejected the entire panel, accusing the manufacturer of working closely with the manufacturer. He replaced them group It included some vaccine skeptics and he closed the door Some physician organizations It has helped form vaccine recommendations for a long time.
Recently, Monares has sought to replace people with more policy experience with officials who coordinated the panel meeting. Monales will also promote the committee to post a review of slides and evidence a few weeks before the committee meeting, opening the session to public comment, Houry said.
HHS officials made it into it and called her to a meeting in Washington on Monday, Houry said.
When it was revealed that Monares was out, the other top CDC officials decided they had to leave, too, Daskarakis said.
“I personally came to the point where I think our science is compromised. That’s my line in the sand,” Daskarakis said.
“When she rejected unscientific and reckless instructions and dedicated health experts, she chose to protect the public rather than serve as a political agenda. That’s why she was targeted,” Monales’ lawyers, Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, said in a statement.
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