Susan Monarez as director of the CDC after only one month in Job

Washington – Susan Monarerez, the first director confirmed by the Senate of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was ousted after only a month – part of a series of high -ranking outings at the CDC. The Trump administration confirmed its departure but provided no explanation.

At least three other senior leaders have resigned, according to notes that they sent to the staff:

• Daniel Jernigan, director of the national center for emerging zoonotic infectious diseases;
• Chief doctor Deb Houry;
• Demeter Daskalakis, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“I am no longer able to play in this role because of the current armament of public health,” said Daskalakis in his email.

“I undertake to protect the health of the public, but the changes in progress prevent me from continuing in my work as a leader of the agency,” wrote Houry, adding that science should “never be censored or subject to political interpretations”.

Monarez “is no longer director” of the CDC, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, which oversees the agency, in a press release on social networks.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fully confidence in his team at @CDCGOV who will continue to be vigilant to protect Americans from infectious diseases in the country and abroad, “the statement added.

Changes are taken after a series of Kennedy’s political layoffs and political procedures which are likely to redo the CDC and perhaps more modify the federal positions on vaccines. The layoffs have left staff and public health experts fearing that the transformation of the agency in the hands of Kennedy, who for years sowed doubt in the safety of vaccines and has greatly criticized public health leaders, could pack the capacity of the CDC to protect public health in the United States.

“CDC is gone”, an expert in public health sent a text to Stat after the news.
Two members of CDC staff knowing the layoffs told Stat that they had discovered Monarez’s dismissals of the Washington Post. People described as “policies” entered the CDC to ask him where Monarez was, according to one of the staff members, but she was not at the office. The staff were returned shortly after.

The news of eviction occurred the same day that Kennedy announced on social networks that the Food and Drug Administration had revoked emergency authorization for COVID-19 vaccines and issued closer approvals that could make it more difficult for some to obtain it.

Another senior official, Jennifer Layden, who supervised the agency’s data and surveillance efforts, also left the CDC, according to a former American health official knowing the issue. The departure of Layden was reported for the first time by Politico. The news from Monarerez was reported for the first time by the Washington Post.

Monarez was to present a meeting of all the hands of the agency on Monday, but told staff that she had been called to Washington, DC, and had canceled her plans to appear, according to an email from Friday sent to the agency and shared with Stat. On Wednesday, rumors of his departure began to circulate among certain members of the agency staff.

His dismissal “is a shock for CDC employees”, a person from the agency has granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

“For a workforce already extended by political attacks, budget cuts, layoffs and violence at their door, today’s news resembles another destabilizing blow,” said the person.

Another CDC employee: “It’s total chaos.”

Monarez’s withdrawal occurs just a few weeks after taking oath in the role. In her short term, she faced a shoot on the main CDC campus in Atlanta, unprecedented changes to the agency’s vaccine policy process and a period of trouble while the agency’s workforce was reduced.

At its confirmation audience in June, Monarez walked a prudent line, affirming public health measures such as vaccines but not directly in disagreement with Kennedy.

After the shooting, she faced questions about the impact of disinformation on the CDC and the demonization of public health officials of Trump officials, including Kennedy.

Monarez was not Trump’s first choice as CDC director. The administration shot his first choice, Dave Weldon, in March, a few hours before his confirmation hearing begins. There were concerns that he did not have enough support from the legislators.

This is a story in development and will be updated.

Fixed: an earlier version of this story has misized the name of Jennifer Layden.

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