Former CDC directors call RFK Jr. ‘dangerous’ in New York Times guest essay

Their essay came days after President Donald Trump dismissed Susan Monarez as the CDC director. Monarez has said through her lawyers that she was removed because of her refusal to sign off on what she described as reckless and unscientific orders.

The former directors accused Kennedy of undermining vaccines, backing unproven treatments and cutting funding for medical research. “He replaced experts on federal health advisory committees with unqualified individuals who share his dangerous and unscientific views,” they wrote. “He announced the end of US support for global vaccination programmes that protect millions of children and keep Americans safe, citing flawed research and making inaccurate statements.”

The essay was signed by William Foege, William Roper, David Satcher, Jeffrey Koplan, Richard Besser, Tom Frieden, Anne Schuchat, Rochelle Walensky and Mandy Cohen. Their tenures cover administrations from the late 1970s through to Trump’s first term.

NBC News reported that Monarez’s firing was linked to growing tensions over a vaccine advisory committee that Kennedy had reshaped by removing members and appointing vaccine sceptics. Monarez feared she would be forced to approve vaccine recommendations not backed by science.

“We are worried about the wide-ranging impact that all these decisions will have on America’s health security,” the former directors wrote. They urged Congress to increase oversight of HHS and called on state governments and donors to help cover funding gaps.

They concluded, “The men and women who have joined CDC across generations have done so not for prestige or power, but because they believe deeply in the call to service. They deserve an HHS secretary who stands up for health, supports science and has their back. So, too, does our country.”