On Thursday, an advisory CDC panel that develops vaccine guidance met for a two-day discussion on multiple childhood vaccines. During the meeting, which was underway as The Checkup went to press, members of the panel were set to discuss those vaccines and propose recommendations on their use.
Monarez worries that access to childhood vaccines is under threat—and that the public health consequences could be dire. “If vaccine protections are weakened, preventable diseases will return,” she said.
As the current secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. oversees federal health and science agencies that include the CDC, which monitors and responds to threats to public health. Part of that role involves developing vaccine recommendations.
As we’ve noted before, RFK Jr. has long been a prominent critic of vaccines. He has incorrectly linked commonly used ingredients to autism and made other incorrect statements about risks associated with various vaccines.
Still, he oversaw the recruitment of Monarez—who does not share those beliefs—to lead the agency. When she was sworn in on July 31, Monarez, who is a microbiologist and immunologist, had already been serving as acting director of the agency. She had held prominent positions at other federal agencies and departments too, including the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Kennedy described her as “a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials.”
His opinion seems to have changed somewhat since then. Just 29 days after Monarez took on her position, she was turfed out of the agency. And in yesterday’s hearing, she explained why.
On August 25, Kennedy asked Monarez to do two things, she said. First, he wanted her to commit to firing scientists at the agency. And second, he wanted her to “pre-commit” to approve vaccine recommendations made by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), regardless of whether there was any scientific evidence to support those recommendations, she said. “He just wanted blanket approval,” she said during her testimony.
She refused both requests.