A senior vaccine expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has resigned in protest, warning that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sweeping changes to vaccine policy and leadership are endangering public health.
Widely respected infectious disease specialist Dr. Fiona Havers stepped down after 13 years at the CDC on Monday, citing Kennedy’s decision to fire all 17 members of the vaccine advisory panel last week. Of the eight replacements named so far, half are known to be skeptical of vaccines.
“If it isn’t stopped, and some of this isn’t reversed, like, immediately, a lot of Americans are going to die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases,” Havers told The New York Times in her first public remarks since resigning.
Her departure marks the second high-profile resignation from the CDC in recent weeks, following that of Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, another vaccine policy leader.
Kennedy’s purge targeted the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a key body that reviews data and helps determine national vaccine guidelines. The committee has enormous influence: its recommendations affect insurance coverage and school vaccine mandates.
“It’s a very transparent, rigorous process, and they have just taken a sledgehammer to it in the last several weeks,” Dr. Havers said. “CDC processes are being corrupted in a way that I haven’t seen before.”
Dr. Havers had been preparing to present new data to the committee when she tendered her resignation. “I could not be party to legitimizing this new committee,” she said. “I just no longer had confidence that the data that we were generating was going to be used objectively.”
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford pediatrician fired from the committee by Kennedy, warned that losing voices like Havers further weakens the nation’s ability to respond to infectious disease threats. “It also demonstrates the chaos and lack of support our federal health agencies are currently experiencing,” Maldonado added.
Dr. Camille Kotton, who left the ACIP last year, echoed their concerns. “It seems increasingly likely that we will not be able to trust information coming from the CDC,” she said.
Kennedy has claimed “97%” of the ACIP had conflicts of interest, and dismissed extensive research available on vaccine safety. “Nobody has any idea what the risk profiles are on these products,” he said on Fox News last week. Despite fact checkers disputing his claims, Kennedy asserts his actions should inspire trust, not degrade it.
“Vaccine policy decisions will be based on objective data, transparent analysis and evidence — not conflicts of interest or industry influence,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said.
While Dr. Havers says last week’s firings were “the last straw” for her, she commended those who continue to serve. “I have utmost respect for my colleagues at CDC who stay and continue to try and limit the damage from the inside,” she said.
Originally published on Latin Times
