Health leaders, medical groups: CDC leader exodus puts nation's health at risk

August 29, 2025

 

"As news broke last night of the ouster of newly confirmed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez, PhD, and the resignations of some of the agency's top scientists, reactions came fast and furious from public health leaders, professional groups, and lawmakers.

 

The upheaval at the CDC comes just weeks after a gunman attacked the campus, reportedly fueled by grievances about the COVID vaccine. The CDC has also been rocked by watered-down COVID vaccine recommendations that came from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his surrogates who have announced new reviews of autism causes and COVID vaccines, both hot-button issues of Kennedy and other vaccine critics.

...

Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, on X called the developments a wholesale destruction of leadership at CDC. "Most of the top leaders who run key centers have resigned en masse. Total implosion," he wrote, adding that the exodus is linked to Kennedy's leadership.

 

Ali Kahn, MD, MPH, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical College's College of Public Health and former assistant surgeon general, said on X that the CDC director's ouster and the wave of senior leadership resignations isn’t just a political shake-up. "It's a threat to the nation's ability to respond to current public health threats and the next pandemic."

 

(more)

 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/anti-science/health-leaders-medical-groups-cdc-leader-exodus-puts-nations-health-risk

 

 

Infectious Diseases Society of America President Dr. Tina Tan:

 

The sustained attacks on public health in the U.S. must end now

 

"The mass resignations of CDC expert leaders present a clear and present danger to Americans of all ages and leave our nation extremely vulnerable to a wide range of public health threats from outbreaks to bioterror attacks. As we near respiratory virus season, it is imperative that our country have expert public health leadership for effective surveillance, communications and responses.

  

This loss of highly experienced CDC leadership is the latest devastating result of the Administration’s sustained attacks on public health, and it absolutely must be the last. It is time for fundamental changes and a return to evidence-based policy. The Administration’s current trajectory for destroying the public health system is reckless and cannot continue."

 

https://www.idsociety.org/news--publications-new/articles/2025/the-sustained-attacks-on-public-health-in-the-u.s.-must-end-now

 

 

 

Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America:

Strong, Evidence-Based Leadership at CDC Essential in Wake of Director’s Exit, Says SHEA

"SHEA is deeply disappointed by the sudden departure of the CDC Director so soon after her confirmation, at a time when the agency most needs stability and authority to carry out its vital mission of protecting the health and safety of all Americans. The United States stands at a critical crossroads, where strong, trusted public health leadership is essential to restoring confidence through evidence-based practices and guidance....

 

We urge the Administration and Senate leadership to move swiftly to appoint a highly qualified leader who can steer the CDC through today’s urgent challenges and prepare for those to come, including any future pandemics. The CDC is not only central to protecting Americans from health threats but also to strengthening health outcomes and ensuring a healthier future for all."

 

https://shea-online.org/strong-evidence-based-leadership-at-cdc-essential-in-wake-of-directors-exit-says-shea/

 

 

oh no

Senator Murray Calls for Immediate Firing of RFK Jr., Commends CDC Director Monarez’s Stand for Science and Public Health

 

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement:

 

“Susan Monarez’s willingness to stand up for science and protect the integrity of the CDC is commendable and deeply important—however, it only further underscores the reality at HHS: Director Monarez is not the problem, RFK Jr. is.

 

If there are any adults left in the White House, it’s well past time they face reality and fire RFK Jr. He is a dangerous man who is determined to abuse his authority to act on truly terrifying conspiracy theories and disinformation—leaving us unprepared for the next deadly pandemic and snuffing out potential cures while he’s at it....

 

“Further we should all be deeply disturbed by the resignation of highly qualified CDC officials whose work quite literally saves lives. It will be an extremely frightening world if the CDC is hollowed out and its ranks filled only by conspiracy theorists that RFK Jr. agrees with. RFK Jr. comes into conflict with every credible researcher, scientist, or doctor because he lives in his own unhinged world of anti-vaccine disinformation—our current trajectory is not tenable. We need serious people working at CDC and across HHS."

 

(more)

 

https://www.murray.senate.gov/senator-murray-calls-for-immediate-firing-of-rfk-jr-commends-cdc-director-monarezs-stand-for-science-and-public-health/

 

 

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Senator Murray Calls for Immediate Firing of RFK Jr., Commends CDC Director Monarez’s Stand for Science and Public Health

 

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement:

 

“Susan Monarez’s willingness to stand up for science and protect the integrity of the CDC is commendable and deeply important—however, it only further underscores the reality at HHS: Director Monarez is not the problem, RFK Jr. is.

 

If there are any adults left in the White House, it’s well past time they face reality and fire RFK Jr. He is a dangerous man who is determined to abuse his authority to act on truly terrifying conspiracy theories and disinformation—leaving us unprepared for the next deadly pandemic and snuffing out potential cures while he’s at it....

 

“Further we should all be deeply disturbed by the resignation of highly qualified CDC officials whose work quite literally saves lives. It will be an extremely frightening world if the CDC is hollowed out and its ranks filled only by conspiracy theorists that RFK Jr. agrees with. RFK Jr. comes into conflict with every credible researcher, scientist, or doctor because he lives in his own unhinged world of anti-vaccine disinformation—our current trajectory is not tenable. We need serious people working at CDC and across HHS."

 

(more)

 

https://www.murray.senate.gov/senator-murray-calls-for-immediate-firing-of-rfk-jr-commends-cdc-director-monarezs-stand-for-science-and-public-health/

 

 

So is Trump going to fire RFKJ? 

 

 

 

https://x.com/SenSanders/status/1960877062694297630

 

Personally, I don't care about these overpaid, compromised white-coats walking out; and being forced out. I'd like to see the whole lot gone.

 

What I am interested in is 'truth'. Something the US health authorities, especially the CDC, have been diverting people away from for as long as I care to remember.

 

Since the FED was formed in 1913, there has been a gradual monetisation of health. Now the situation is so dire, that Big Pharma factor in anticipated fines into the costs. When Big Pharma's Dollar profit is seen as more important than the country's health; questions have to be asked.

 

Is Kennedy the man? He is certainly diverting the gravy train just a little. There will be a big stink when the PREP Act gets stopped.  We will see some feathers flying then.

This from Chat GPT:

 

"Wearing a mask can lead to discomfort and side effects such as headaches, skin irritation, and breathing difficulties, especially with prolonged use. Additionally, some studies suggest that excessive carbon dioxide rebreathing may impair cognitive function and overall health."

 

I really wonder about some people who keep droning on and on and on about masks and COVID vaccines. Maybe their cognitive functions have been severely affected.

One person being sacked and a few tag alongs resigning from the CDC puts an entire nations health at risk.  Time for change. 

1 minute ago, dinsdale said:

One person being sacked from the CDC puts an entire nations health at risk. 

Injustice Porn  again. Give it a few weeks

8 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

One person being sacked from the CDC puts an entire nations health at risk. 

 

Pretty much the entire top professional leadership of the CDC is gone, other than Kennedy and Trump's non-public health-professional political appointees.

 

Before the move to fire Monarez, Kennedy demanded that she dismiss her senior CDC professional staff, and she refused. In the wake of her firing, at least four other top CDC directors under Monarez announced their resignations, as detailed in the original thread on Monarez' dismissal.

 

Inside the CDC director’s ouster: Kennedy demanded acceptance of new vaccine policies; Susan Monarez refused

Kennedy insisted Monarez approve all recommendations from his hand-picked vaccine panel

...

"When she refused, Kennedy offered her another choice: Accept all recommendations from the agency’s vaccine advisory committee, whose members he had replaced with hand-picked allies who shared his hostile views about childhood immunizations, and fire a number of high-level officials at the agency." [emphasis added]

 

https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/cdc-director-fired-behind-the-scenes-look/

 

9 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

One person being sacked and a few tag alongs resigning from the CDC puts an entire nations health at risk.  Time for change. 

The best and most expert. To be replaced with what .. I expect more from a Monty Python fan

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Pretty much the entire top professional leadership of the CDC is gone,

Going to jobs in big pharma no doubt.

Massive CDC walkout erupts amid internal chaos

Dozens of staff members and leaders at the CDC staged a walkout Thursday in response to the internal shake-up of top federal health officials.

...

Flashback: The clap out protest comes as new policies announced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear to be driving out senior officials.

• Demetre Daskalakis, who was director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said recent policy changes surrounding the COVID vaccine threatened lives and there had been an "intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines."
   
• Other departing officials include CDC chief medical officer Debra Houry and Daniel Jernigan, director of the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Axios reported.

2 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Going to jobs in big pharma no doubt.

 

Typical nonsense response from you...that has no basis in fact.

 

"Celine Gounder, MD, an infectious disease specialist and senior fellow at KFF, ... pointed out that the three top officials who resigned yesterday, Debra Houry, MD, MPH, (chief science and medical officer), Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH (director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases), and Dan Jernigan, MD, MPH, (director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases), didn't have jobs lined up elsewhere. 

 

"This isn't about making big pharma bucks. They jumped without a parachute. There is no plan B," she wrote. "They did this out of their sense of moral conscience & professional duty."

 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/anti-science/health-leaders-medical-groups-cdc-leader-exodus-puts-nations-health-risk

 

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Typical nonsense response from you...that has no basis in fact.

 

"Celine Gounder, MD, an infectious disease specialist and senior fellow at KFF, ... pointed out that the three top officials who resigned yesterday, Debra Houry, MD, MPH, (chief science and medical officer), Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH (director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases), and Dan Jernigan, MD, MPH, (director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases), didn't have jobs lined up elsewhere. 

 

"This isn't about making big pharma bucks. They jumped without a parachute. There is no plan B," she wrote. "They did this out of their sense of moral conscience & professional duty."

 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/anti-science/health-leaders-medical-groups-cdc-leader-exodus-puts-nations-health-risk

 

Yep. The old crew that pushed the safety and efficacy of the mRNA jabs whilst not questioning the lack of long term vigorous and transparent scientific testing of the product.

9 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

"This isn't about making big pharma bucks. They jumped without a parachute. There is no plan B," she wrote. "They did this out of their sense of moral conscience & professional duty."

 

Oh how noble. Got to pay the bills though, maybe write a book 

3 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Oh how noble. Got to pay the bills though, maybe write a book 

They can write a book about why they didn’t require any of the third world border jumpers to be vaccinated.

And now we hear from the Republican senator, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who provided the crucial support that led to the Senate confirming RFK Jr. in a party line vote:

 

Sen. Cassidy calls for vaccine advisory meeting to be postponed amid CDC departures

August 28, 2025

 

"Washington — Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, called on the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday to "indefinitely postpone" its vaccine advisory committee meeting next month amid a slew of departures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

"If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership," Cassidy said in a statement.

...

The agenda for the Sept. 18 vaccine advisory committee meeting is set to include discussions of vaccines for COVID-19, Hepatitis B, RSV and the MMRV measles, mumps, rubella, varicella vaccine, and could entail scheduling votes on recommendations for these vaccines."

 

(more)

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-cassidy-postpone-vaccine-advisory-meeting-cdc-departures/

 

The CBS report goes on to point out that Cassidy made the same demand/request earlier this year after Kennedy sacked the CDC's entire vaccines advisory panel, and replaced them with a handful of hastily chosen anti-vaxers or misinformation peddlers, and others with no professional qualifications in the field.... And, not surprisingly, Kennedy then ignored Cassidy, and went ahead with the meeting of his newly named advisors.

 

----------------------------------------------

Cassidy Calls for Vaccine Committee Meeting to be Postponed Following CDC Departures

08.28.2025

 

"WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to indefinitely postpone their September 18^th meeting.

 

“Serious allegations have been made about the meeting agenda, membership, and lack of scientific process being followed for the now announced September ACIP meeting. These decisions directly impact children’s health and the meeting should not occur until significant oversight has been conducted. If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership,” said Dr. Cassidy.

 

https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/cassidy-calls-for-vaccine-committee-meeting-to-be-postponed-following-cdc-departures

 

21 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Yep. The old crew that pushed the safety and efficacy of the mRNA jabs whilst not questioning the lack of long term vigorous and transparent scientific testing of the product.

 

The vaccines have been administered to more than 13 billion people around the globe over the past nearly five years.... with very limited serious side effects impacting very small numbers of people considering the numbers vaccinated -- numbers that pale in comparison to the many millions of lives that studies have found were saved by COVID vaccines.

 

When the COVID pandemic was originally raging and 10,000+ Americans were dying each week from COVID, would you have preferred countries like the U.S. withhold the vaccines that had already been proven to substantially reduce deaths and serious illness, and tell people, "we'll get back to you in five or 10 years"???

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1960895774079799344

 

15 minutes ago, Airalee said:

They can write a book about why they didn’t require any of the third world border jumpers to be vaccinated.

Ouch. A one line skewer of the vaccine Socialists.

17 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The vaccines have been administered to more than 13 billion people around the globe over the past nearly five years.... with very limited serious side effects impacting very small numbers of people considering the numbers vaccinated -- numbers that pale in comparison to the many millions of lives that studies have found were saved by COVID vaccines.

 

When the COVID pandemic was originally raging and 10,000+ Americans were dying each week from COVID, would you have preferred countries like the U.S. withhold the vaccines that had already been proven to substantially reduce deaths and serious illness, and tell people, "we'll get back to you in five or 10 years"???

 

 

 

Dying from covid or dying with covid? Dying from treatments or dying from the man made virus? How anyone in this day and age cannot be sceptical about statistics and blinly accept what they're told to believe without question is beyond me.

10 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Dying from covid or dying with covid? Dying from treatments or dying from the man made virus? How anyone in this day and age cannot be sceptical about statistics and blinly accept what they're told to believe without question is beyond me.

 

You keep trotting out the same old long-debunked nonsense...

 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

 

 

46 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And now we hear from the Republican senator, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who provided the crucial support that led to the Senate confirming RFK Jr. in a party line vote:

 

Sen. Cassidy calls for vaccine advisory meeting to be postponed amid CDC departures

August 28, 2025

 

"Washington — Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, called on the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday to "indefinitely postpone" its vaccine advisory committee meeting next month amid a slew of departures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

"If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership," Cassidy said in a statement.

...

The agenda for the Sept. 18 vaccine advisory committee meeting is set to include discussions of vaccines for COVID-19, Hepatitis B, RSV and the MMRV measles, mumps, rubella, varicella vaccine, and could entail scheduling votes on recommendations for these vaccines."

 

(more)

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-cassidy-postpone-vaccine-advisory-meeting-cdc-departures/

 

The CBS report goes on to point out that Cassidy made the same demand/request earlier this year after Kennedy sacked the CDC's entire vaccines advisory panel, and replaced them with a handful of hastily chosen anti-vaxers or misinformation peddlers, and others with no professional qualifications in the field.... And, not surprisingly, Kennedy then ignored Cassidy, and went ahead with the meeting of his newly named advisors.

 

----------------------------------------------

Cassidy Calls for Vaccine Committee Meeting to be Postponed Following CDC Departures

08.28.2025

 

"WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, called for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to indefinitely postpone their September 18^th meeting.

 

“Serious allegations have been made about the meeting agenda, membership, and lack of scientific process being followed for the now announced September ACIP meeting. These decisions directly impact children’s health and the meeting should not occur until significant oversight has been conducted. If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership,” said Dr. Cassidy.

 

https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/cassidy-calls-for-vaccine-committee-meeting-to-be-postponed-following-cdc-departures

 

Meeting won't be postponed. 

3 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Meeting won't be postponed. 

 

It wasn't last time. Will be interesting to see this time, whether Cassidy gets ignored for a second time, or finally, actually holds RFK Jr. to the now widely broken promises he made prior to his confirmation.

 

"In February, Kennedy's confirmation to the post came only after Cassidy delivered the key vote to advance the nomination out of committee. The Louisiana Republican, a medical doctor, had expressed misgivings over Kennedy's nomination because of the doubts he has raised about vaccines for decades.

 

Cassidy ultimately supported Kennedy's nomination, citing "serious commitments" he said he'd received from the administration. He later said Kennedy and the administration had agreed that he would speak with the secretary multiple times a month, and the pair "would have an unprecedentedly close collaborative working relationship."

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-cassidy-postpone-vaccine-advisory-meeting-cdc-departures/

 

Resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH, former director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases:

 

"...after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

...

I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.  

...

 Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.

 

(more)

 

https://twitter.com/dr_demetre/status/1960843433473376602

 

 

With the resignation en masse of knowledgeable and experienced personnel, the next epidemic could be a disaster for America.

 

Of course, the ideological appointments will be in full CYA mode.

 

Snience and ideology have always mixed as well as oil and water.

 

Everyone responsible for coercing the vaccine on people deserve to lose their jobs