Former CDC Director Susan Monarez, whom the Trump administration recently fired, testified before the Senate HELP Committee on Wednesday that her old boss, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tried to force her to go along with changes that critics contend would make it harder for Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Monarez said RFK Jr. wanted her to endorse new vaccine recommendations before she reviewed scientific evidence — evidence that scientists claim are dubious. When she refused, she recalled, Kennedy berated her, insulted the CDC and its efforts to keep the public safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, and threatened her job.
Her claims directly contradict Kennedy’s testimony before the U.S. Senate on September 4, when he stated, “I’m not taking vaccines away from anybody,” and said Monarez admitted she was untrustworthy.
“I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, ‘Are you a trustworthy person?’ And she said, ‘No,’” Kennedy told the Senate earlier this month.
“Secretary Kennedy told me he could not trust me. I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence, fire career officials without cause or resign, and I had shared my concerns with this committee,” Monarez said Wednesday, pushing back on Kennedy’s version of events. “I told the secretary that if he believed he could not trust me, he could fire me.”
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, continues to maintain that the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, even though he has appointed vaccine skeptics who peddle inaccurate science to a key vaccine review board. And federal regulators recently approved new Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax vaccines for seniors, but said younger adults and children must prove they have at least one high-risk health condition, such as cancer or asthma — barriers that could result in millions of Americans not being able to get the shot.
