Wednesday was not a great day for public health. Susan Monarez was fired from public health at the behest of the capitalist class. Unfortunately, this tragic decision followed her appointment by only four weeks. Her abrupt firing has set off a wave of subsequent resignations from other top officials at the agency. This has resulted in an understandable uproar about the politicization of public health in the United States.
Monarez’s attorneys, Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, informed us that she has yet to receive any formal reason for her firing. They are advocating and demanding accountability and answers. They further stressed that Monarez has not quit. She has very much not been told by the White House that she’s fired, to prove her deep commitment to science and public health.
The removal comes against a background of growing unrest at the CDC. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a statement, thanking Monarez for her dedication and service to the American people. Even this step wasn’t enough to assuage the anger among agency staff.
Soon after Monarez’s exit, so too went Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Further, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, announced his resignation. Their departures mark a massive exodus from an agency key to protecting the country from public health emergencies like COVID-19.
Zaid and Lowell accused Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of seeking to “weaponize public health for political gain,” indicating that this maneuver could jeopardize millions of American lives. They found that Monarez’s unwillingness to carry out orders that she decided were unscientific made her a target for ousting.
“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda. For that, she has been targeted.” – Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell
In a scathing email to his colleagues, Dr. Daskalakis was clear about his feelings about the pernicious climate in the agency. He explained that he could no longer work in a space defined by the “perpetual weaponization of public health.”
“I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health.” – Dr. Demetre Daskalakis
In his parting message, Daskalakis encouraged his fellow public servants to keep doing their important work—even in a broken system.
“You are the best team I have ever worked with, and you continue to shine despite this dark cloud over the agency and our profession.” – Dr. Demetre Daskalakis
Things took a more inflammatory turn after Kennedy praised the FDA’s decision. As a result, this decision wiped out the emergency use authorization for COVID-19 shots developed by Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax. This ruling has grave impacts on vaccines that CDC scientists and experts believe have saved about 3.2 million lives in the U.S. alone.
The ripple effects of these changes have caused concern among public health advocates. Dr. Deb Houry, a senior official at the CDC, emphasized the critical importance of vaccines in saving lives, calling it an “indisputable, well-established scientific fact.”
“Vaccines save lives – this is an indisputable, well-established, scientific fact.” – Dr. Deb Houry
Houry equally stressed the importance of informed consent and shared decision-making to public health policy.
Lowell and Zaid released their own statement warning of Monarez’s dismissal. They say it’s part of a dangerous trend to destroy public health organizations and suppress scientific authority.
“This is not about one official. It is about the systematic dismantling of public health institutions, the silencing of experts, and the dangerous politicization of science.” – Mark Zaid and Abbe David Lowell
They told us that what’s being done to Monarez sends a stark new message. This change represents a dangerous departure from evidence-based public health practices and a continuing move toward a politically motivated agenda.