The firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez has triggered a wave of resignations among senior officials, as mounting tensions over an upcoming vaccine advisory meeting plunged the agency into crisis.
Monarez was dismissed Wednesday shortly after raising concerns that she was being pressured to approve new vaccine recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), despite what she described as unscientific guidance. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had recently overhauled ACIP membership, replacing several members with vaccine skeptics.
Hours after Monarez’s departure, at least three high-ranking officials resigned in protest, including Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, head of the CDC’s vaccine division; Dr. Debra Houry, the agency’s chief medical officer; and Dr. Daniel Jernigan, a 30-year veteran overseeing infectious diseases. Each cited political interference and the erosion of scientific independence.
Daskalakis specifically warned that new guidance prepared for the September 18 ACIP meeting contained anti-vaccine talking points and disregarded input from CDC career scientists. He criticized instructions to new committee members that they should “prevent CDC bias” from influencing deliberations, calling the move “unheard of” and contrary to the agency’s commitment to evidence-based science.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Health Committee, urged the Biden administration to postpone the ACIP meeting and conduct oversight, warning that any recommendations made under current conditions would “lack legitimacy.”
On Thursday, the White House appointed Jim O’Neill, a deputy at the Department of Health and Human Services, as acting CDC director.
The upheaval has rattled staff across the agency. Hundreds of current and former employees, public health workers, and supporters gathered outside CDC headquarters in Atlanta to rally behind the departing leaders. Applause, hugs, and signs of support greeted Monarez’s allies as they left the building.
“America’s public health is significantly in danger,” Houry said, describing the resignations as a tipping point.
Jernigan added that the administration’s questioning of longstanding scientific findings had undermined confidence in the CDC’s decision-making.
Monarez, represented by attorney Mark Zaid, has disputed the legality of her removal, arguing that only the president has the authority to terminate her.
The controversy underscores a deepening rift over federal vaccine policy at a critical moment, with the influential ACIP meeting now clouded by allegations of political interference, internal dissent, and public distrust.
