Fired CDC Chief to Testify Against RFK 09/17 06:03

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director 
Susan Monarez will tell senators that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 
pressured her to endorse new vaccine recommendations before seeing scientific 
evidence, according to a copy of the testimony she plans to give during a 
Wednesday hearing.

   According to a copy of the prepared remarks, obtained Tuesday by The 
Associated Press, Monarez will tell senators that Kennedy gave her an 
ultimatum: "Preapprove" new vaccine recommendations from a controversial 
advisory CDC panel that Kennedy has stocked with some medical experts who doubt 
vaccine safety or be fired. That panel is expected to vote on new vaccine 
recommendations later this week.

   Monarez, initially handpicked by Kennedy and nominated by President Donald 
Trump, was fired just weeks into the job over disagreements on vaccine 
policies. She is set to appear before the Senate's powerful health committee to 
discuss her firing.

   "Even under pressure, I could not replace evidence with ideology or 
compromise my integrity," Monarez will say in her opening testimony to 
senators. "Vaccine policy must be guided by credible data, not predetermined 
outcomes."

   She said she was "fired for holding the line on scientific integrity."

   Monarez also notes that Kennedy directed her to fire a number of 
high-ranking CDC officials without cause.

   The Senate hearing will focus on the impact the turmoil at the nation's 
leading public health agency, which is responsible for making vaccine 
recommendations to the public, will have on children's health. It will also 
undoubtedly serve as an opportunity for Monarez and former Chief Medical 
Officer Debra Houry, who will also testify before the committee, to respond to 
a number of Kennedy's contentious claims about their final days at the agency.

   Kennedy has denied Monarez' accusations that he ordered "rubber-stamped" 
vaccine recommendations.

   He has described Monarez as admitting to him that she is "untrustworthy," a 
claim Monarez has denied through her attorney. He did, however, acknowledge 
during a testy Senate hearing earlier this month that he ordered Monarez to 
fire several top officials at the CDC.

   The Senate hearing is taking place just a day before the vaccine panel 
starts its two-day session in Atlanta to discuss shots against COVID-19, 
hepatitis B and chickenpox. It's unclear how the panel might vote on the 
recommendations, though members have raised doubts about whether hepatitis B 
shots administered to newborns are necessary and have suggested that COVID-19 
recommendations should be more restricted.

   The CDC director must endorse those recommendations before they become 
official. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill, now serving 
as the CDC's acting director, will be responsible for that.

   Monarez and Houry are expected to face tense questions from Republicans over 
the CDC's vaccine recommendations and COVID-19 policies. Democrats, meanwhile, 
are likely to seek more information on Kennedy's approach to vaccines.

   The health committee's hearing will be overseen by Republican Sen. Bill 
Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who cast a key vote for Kennedy's 
confirmation. He has expressed concern about "serious allegations" at the CDC 
and has called for oversight, without blaming Kennedy.