More than 1,000 current and former health and social services employees wrote an open letter on Wednesday calling to the secretary of the HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., either to resign or be dismissed.
The letter – whose signatories were not appointed publicly – was released at a tense time for the health agency. Last week, the director of the Susan Monarez disease control and prevention centers licenseeand several other senior CDC officials resigned to their work in protest. The staff are also in shock From layoffs, changes to the vaccine approval system – led by Kennedy, a long time vaccine – and a Draw outside the CDC seat last month.
Wednesday’s letter accused Kennedy of “endangering the health of the nation”. He cited last week’s upheavals at the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration decision To cancel the emergency approvals that have made COVVI-19 vaccines available for young children, and the rise in “political ideologists who arise as a key scientific experts” Vaccine approval posts.
He called Kennedy to resign and said that if he refuses to leave his post voluntarily, President Trump should choose a new HHS secretary.
“We have been sworn to support and defend the constitution of the United States and serve the American people. Our oath forces us to speak to us when the Constitution is raped and the American people are endangered,” said the letter.
The letter was published by a group called Save HHS, which wrote a similar open letter last month, urging Kennedy to “stop disseminating inaccurate health information”.
The group said that Wednesday’s letter signatories were provided to Congress members, but were not publicly listed due to security and confidentiality problems.
HHS communications director Andrew Nixon responded to the letter by defending Kennedy’s file and arguing that he is trying to restore confidence in a “broken” CDC.
“Since his first day of mandate, he has committed to checking his assumptions at the door – and he asked each HHS colleague to do the same,” said Nixon. “This commitment to science based on evidence is the reason why, in just seven months, he and the HHS team have accomplished more than any secretary of health in history in the fight to put an end to the chronic illness epidemic and make America again in good health.”
In addition, nine former CDC directors wrote an editorial of the New York Times Monday, who castigated Kennedy for making decisions which, according to them, were “unlike all that we had ever seen at the agency”, and argued that Monarez “adds a considerable fuel to this unleashed fire”.
Kennedy is expected to testify before the Senate’s finance committee on Thursday morning, where he is likely to face questions about the tumult of HHS.
Last week, the White House confirmed This monarez was dismissed. Her lawyers called for the dismissal “legally deficient” and said that she had been “targeted” because she “refused to stade non -scientific rubber, reckless directives and dedicated public health experts”.
At least four other senior CDC leaders also resigned last week, in some cases, writing letters of resignation that decreed the CDC cuts, accused the Trump administration of a “ongoing public health armament” and castigated “disinformation” on vaccines.
The Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of LouisianaA doctor who chairs the Senate health committee, said resignations “will require surveillance”. He also sits on the senatorial finance committee.
Meanwhile, Kennedy ousted to each member A CDC panel responsible for making vaccine recommendations earlier this year, in some cases, replacing them with people who have questioned the safety of vaccines.
And last week, the FDA only authorized A set of COVVI-19 COVI-19 vaccines updated for young adults and children with pre-existing health problems, in addition to all the elders.
contributed to this report.
