Houry, who resigned after Monarez was eliminated, stated that she made the choice to depart her publish as a result of “CDC leaders had been lowered to rubber stamps, supporting insurance policies not based mostly on science and placing American lives in danger.”
She criticized Kennedy’s management as head of Well being and Human Companies and accused him of censoring CDC science, politicizing its processes and stripping the company’s leaders of independence.
“I couldn’t in good conscience stay underneath these situations,” Houry stated.
She stated the nation is on monitor to see important will increase in preventive illnesses and declines in well being “as a result of secretary’s actions.”
“Belief and transparency have been damaged,” Houry stated. “Right here once more, the issue isn’t an excessive amount of science, however too little.”
Houry detailed the stream of data inside the Division of Well being and Human Companies underneath Kennedy’s tenure, together with studying that Kennedy had modified the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine steering by way of a social media publish. She stated CDC scientists haven’t seen the information or justification for these adjustments.
Houry additionally stated the secretary’s workplace ordered the elimination of a scientific doc on thimerosal, an natural compound used as a preservative in drug merchandise, from the CDC’s web site and allowed an “unvetted presentation” on the additive earlier than ACIP.
“That form of last-minute alteration undermines confidence and the deliberations that observe, and is definitely not radical transparency,” Houry stated.
