Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill will be named interim director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a letter Kennedy sent to CDC staff, which was obtained by NPR.
The decision comes after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Susan Monarez, now former director of the CDC, after less than one month on the job. However, the expected decision to replace Monarez with O'Neill has not been officially announced by the White House yet.
Monarez's lawyers say she was forced out because she "refused to rubber stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts." Several top leaders at the CDC resigned in protest to Monarez's removal.
Anne Schuchat, an epidemiologist and physician who served the CDC for 33 years in several leadership roles, told Morning Edition that the absence of "strong, experienced leaders" in the CDC, the U.S. is "really at risk."
"What we're seeing now is an ideological decision about what the answer should be and then a backfill of individuals on the advisory committee and working groups, and so forth, to get to that decision about what we want the answer to be, on a question of vaccine safety, and then let's manipulate the data to get there," Schuchat, former Principal Deputy Director of the CDC, said.
"So I do worry about access," she continued.
NPR's Leila Fadel spoke with Schuchat about the ousting of Monarez, experienced officials leaving the CDC and concerns about vaccine safety and availability under the Trump administration.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Leila Fadel: Where do these departures leave the CDC in the short term without them?
Anne Schuchat: This is really uncharted territory. These leaders who resigned oversaw enormous parts of the agency that are there in crisis and in peace time. And their absences will be greatly felt.
Fadel: So with their absence, how will that impact the nation's response to health crises and medical treatments people can receive?
Schuchat: Well, I think that the key thing is the acting director and the future director and what the secretary will allow the agency to do. You know, people don't think about CDC every day unless there's an enormous outbreak or a pandemic. But the agency is there to protect health and keep people safe from emerging threats to prevent illness, disability, injury and death. And without strong, experienced leaders, we're really at risk. When there's a new threat that's complex, you want someone with judgment, with experience, with balance to help gauge under reacting or overreacting. The earlier we respond, the easier it is. But over-response can be dangerous. And you know, the leaders that left had decades of experience in really complicated situations.
Fadel: I want to ask about vaccines, because that's been a big flashpoint and a big concern. You spent many years working specifically on vaccines. You were the first director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. You helped the U.S. in the world get immunized against pneumonia and meningitis. What are your thoughts as the Trump administration scales back vaccine availability?
Schuchat: I think at CDC, we were committed to increase the transparency and the quality of decision making that informed vaccine policies, strengthening the ability for the public to see the evidence and to deliberate in public with a very structured approach, evidence to recommendation format. So I think that what we're seeing now is an ideological decision about what the answer should be and then a backfill of individuals on the advisory committee and working groups, and so forth, to get to that decision about what we want the answer to be, on a question of vaccine safety, and then let's manipulate the data to get there. So I do worry about access. The CDC oversees the Vaccines for Children program, which has saved about a million lives from premature death, from vaccine preventable disease, and saved about a trillion in terms of its life span of existence and that is contingent on access to the vaccines. So I worry that this government policymaker environment is very dangerous for the public.
Adapted for web by Destinee Adams and edited by Treye Green.
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