Ousted CDC director on RFK shake-ups: This "isn't reform. It is sabotage."

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wanted then-CDC director Susan Monarez to pre-approve the recommendations of his handpicked vaccine advisory panel filled with individuals who've expressed anti-vaccine rhetoric, the ousted director wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.Why it matters: In the first direct explanation of what led to her ouster last week, Monarez said she was fired for holding the line when it came to supporting evidence-based recommendations on vaccinations. Her op-ed appeared the morning Kennedy is due to testify at a Senate hearing, where he's expected to face tough questions about the turmoil at the CDC. What she's saying: "The CDC can't fulfill its obligation to the American people if its leader can't demand proof in decision-making," Monarez wrote. "If discarding evidence for ideology becomes the norm, why should parents, physicians or the public trust the CDC's guidance?"Kennedy defended his shakeup of the agency in the Wall Street Journal last week, writing that he was "restoring trust in the CDC."But Monarez, a career government scientist, accused Kennedy of undercutting the agency's expertise, writing, "Once trusted experts are removed and advisory bodies are stacked, the results are predetermined. That isn't reform. It is sabotage." The other side: HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The department previously thanked Monarez for her service in a post on X, saying Kennedy "has full confidence in his team at @CDCgov who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad."

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