The Logoff will be off tomorrow and on Monday for Labor Day; have a great holiday and we’ll see you back here on Tuesday.
Welcome to The Logoff: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is in chaos after the removal of the agency’s director and the resignation of four senior officials on Wednesday.
What happened? On Wednesday evening, news broke that the CDC’s newly confirmed director, Susan Monarez, had been fired; shortly afterward, at least three other officials — Demetre Daskalakis, Deb Houry, and Daniel Jernigan — resigned in protest and were escorted out. Houry was the CDC’s chief medical officer, while Daskalakis led the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and Jernigan led the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.
Jennifer Layden, who ran the CDC’s office of public health data, also resigned earlier in the day.
Why was Monarez fired? Monarez, who was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed to the job by Senate Republicans just weeks earlier, reportedly refused to fire other top CDC officials or to go along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s desires regarding new Covid-19 vaccine recommendations.
What does RFK Jr. want the CDC to do on vaccines? On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved new restrictions on Covid vaccines for the fall, narrowing eligibility to just those 65 and older or with underlying conditions. Kennedy reportedly pushed the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee to match those recommendations, which would have significantly reduced the number of people eligible for an updated vaccine.
What does Wednesday’s exodus mean for the CDC? Kennedy has already used his power at HHS to advance an anti-vaccine agenda, including by slashing half a billion dollars in contracts for mRNA vaccines earlier this month. With senior CDC leadership hollowed out, the agency will certainly be less science-driven and more empowered to enact Kennedy's vision.
What’s the big picture? As my colleague Dylan Scott has written, Kennedy's conflict with the CDC is about much more than vaccines: It's part of a larger battle over public health in the US — with high stakes for the well-being of all Americans.
