Massive CDC Shakeup As Leaders Push Back On RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Policy
The Trump administration fired Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday — just weeks into the job — after she resisted pressure to alter vaccine policy and fire senior staff.
White House officials said she was “not aligned” with Trump’s agenda.
Her attorneys wrote: "She chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.”
Now, a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., Jim O’Neill, will reportedly serve as the CDC’s acting director.
At least four other top CDC officials subsequently quit, many citing Kennedy’s undermining of vaccines and accusing him of putting politics and her personal opinions ahead of science. The move has raised fresh concerns about the independence of the nation’s top public health agency.
RFK WEIGHS IN
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the moves on Fox News Thursday, saying, “The agency is in trouble and we need to fix it … some people should not be working there anymore.”
He accused the CDC of spreading “misinformation” during the COVID pandemic on testing, masking, and school closures, and criticized the agency’s priorities, including faulting it for promoting vaccines as top medical advances.
According to a study published by The Lancet in 2024, vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives worldwide since 1974 – the vast majority of those infants.
The exodus of top CDC leaders has fueled fears that Kennedy’s allies will further weaken vaccine recommendations. The former officials accused public health decisions of being politicized, not being based on medical data, and putting Americans at risk.
THAT’S ALREADY STARTED
In June, Kennedy ousted all members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with vaccine skeptics. The panel guides adult and childhood vaccine schedules. Its next meeting in September could determine who should get the updated COVID shot and if some patients must pay $140 for the vaccine, out of pocket.
The CDC will be looking at the Food and Drug Administration’s new COVID vaccine policy this week that limits free shots.
The FDA is limiting approval to people ages 65+ or those who have underlying health conditions like asthma, cancer, heart or lung problems, obesity, depression, pregnancy, a history of smoking, or physical inactivity.
Before this change, the CDC recommended annual COVID shots for everyone 6 months and older.
Healthy adults and young people who still wish to get a vaccine must now consult a doctor. However, some medical professionals may be reluctant to recommend the vaccines for "off-label" use.
Federal health officials argue the changes are justified because the COVID national emergency is over and they believe most people already have some level of immunity. They also raise doubts about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.
Critics, including senior U.S. health officials, say the move reflects Kennedy's long-standing opposition to vaccines and his goal of limiting access without scientific backup.
BIGGER PICTURE
Distrust in public health continues to have real-world impacts. The 2024-2025 school year saw the lowest vaccination rates among U.S. kindergartners in at least a decade, as vaccination exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to CDC data.
Mo News talked with economist and parenting data expert Emily Oster for our July Premium workshop, which looked at overall public health trends, the rise of MAHA, wellness culture, and the data behind all of it.
She explained why public trust in health advisories dropped during COVID, when officials made confident claims one day — only to reverse them the next.
🎧 Watch or listen to the full workshop by becoming a Mo News Premium member to access all of our sessions.