More Than 1,000 Health Workers Urge Kennedy To Quit Over Anti-vax Policies

A missive published Wednesday from much than 1,000 past and coming workers of nan wellness and quality services section (HHS) has demanded nan resignation of Robert F Kennedy Jr, insisting nan wellness secretary’s attacks connected vaccines endangered nan lives of each Americans.

The hard-hitting letter, addressed to Congress members, blames Kennedy for turmoil astatine nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including nan firing of nan agency’s main and replacement by a Donald Trump loyalist pinch no aesculapian aliases technological background.

It comes 2 days aft nine erstwhile CDC officials wrote successful a New York Times impermanent effort that Kennedy’s leadership, and ousting of CDC head Susan Monarez months aft he appointed her, was “unacceptable” and “unlike thing we person ever seen”.

The missive posted Wednesday by a group calling itself Save HHS assails Kennedy for “endangering nan nation’s wellness by spreading inaccurate wellness information”.

It cites nan resignations of different starring wellness officials, including Demetre Daskalakis, head of CDC’s nationalist halfway for immunization and respiratory diseases; Daniel Jernigan, nan agency’s head for emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases; and Debra Houry, its main aesculapian officer.

It besides offers crisp disapproval of Kennedy’s installation of “political ideologues who airs arsenic technological experts” successful starring roles, including a cardinal vaccine advisory panel. Several members person touted discredited theories, specified arsenic nan long-disproven nexus betwixt vaccines and autism.

Earlier this week, nan US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) severely restricted who could get updated Covid-19 vaccines, pinch Kennedy posting to societal media that coronavirus “mandates” from nan Biden management were rescinded and that vaccines would beryllium disposable only to those astatine highest risk.

“Our oath requires america to speak retired erstwhile nan constitution is violated and nan American group are put astatine risk,” nan letter, co-signed by six partner organizations successful nan aesculapian field, said.

“We pass nan president, congress, and nan nationalist that Secretary Kennedy’s actions are compromising nan wellness of this nation, and we request Secretary Kennedy’s resignation.”

It calls for Trump to name a caller wellness caput “whose qualifications and acquisition guarantee that wellness argumentation is informed by independent and unbiased peer-reviewed science”.

Trump this week expressed his displeasure astatine nan chaos engulfing nan CDC, acknowledging successful a social media post that nan agency was being “ripped apart” by nan vaccines controversy. But he claimed supplier manufacturers were to blasted for allegedly not revealing publically “the occurrence aliases failure” of Covid vaccines.

The Trump management besides antecedently sided pinch Kennedy complete Monarez’s firing, which prompted bipartisan pushback and a walkout of dozens of CDC unit past month. Monarez, a agelong serving authorities master connected infectious diseases, was confirmed successful July, but fired because she was “not aligned pinch nan president’s agenda”, a White House connection said.

The 1,040 erstwhile and existent HHS labor who signed Wednesday’s missive said they were penning again because Kennedy ignored their earlier communication. A connection issued by HHS accused nan group of “an effort to politicize a tragedy” by claiming Kennedy’s vaccine rhetoric played a domiciled successful an attack connected CDC headquarters successful Atlanta connected 8 August successful which a constabulary serviceman was killed.

In its caller letter, nan group said that nan HHS workforce is non-partisan, “implementing science-based policies developed nether some Republican and Democratic administrations”.

It said: “We judge wellness argumentation should beryllium based connected strong, evidence-based principles alternatively than partisan politics. But nether Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS policies are placing nan wellness of each Americans astatine risk, sloppy of their politics”.

The missive was signed “in our ain individual capacities, connected our individual time, and without nan usage of authorities equipment”. It said “countless others” crossed HHS shared their concerns but “chose not to motion retired of well-founded fearfulness of retaliation and threats to individual safety”.

Up to 30 workers astatine nan Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) were placed connected leave past week aft they publically signed a missive of dissent complete Trump’s dismantling of nan agency and fears it would lead to a disaster for illustration Hurricane Katrina successful 2005.