Nine former directors of the CDC have penned an op-ed for the New York Times condemning Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decisions as "endangering every American's health."

Washington

Nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have authored an op-ed criticizing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for decisions they claim endanger public health. The former directors accuse Kennedy of placing politics and ideology above scientific evidence, particularly in relation to vaccine guidance.

The op-ed highlights concerns about the firing of the CDC's director, the alleged weaponization of the agency, and the exclusion of scientists from key decisions. The directors warn that recent changes to vaccine guidance, announced on social media without scientific review, could undermine trust in public health and lead to increased illness among children. They call for Congressional oversight to address these issues.

Nine former CDC directors write op-ed condemning RFK Jr.'s decisions

We turn now to the scathing criticisms of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Today, nine former directors of the CDC penned an op-ed for The New York Times condemning his decisions as, quote, endangering every American's health. It's part of the continued fallout over the firing of the agency's director last week. CBS News medical contributor Dr. Celine Gounder joins me now. I know that you spoke with one of those nine former directors. You know, what are some of the main criticisms, Dr. Gounder, when it comes to Secretary Kennedy? Their criticism boils down to this. They say Secretary Kennedy is putting politics and ideology ahead of science. Resigning officials also described the weaponizing of the CDC, the censoring or cherry-picking of data, and cutting scientists out of decisions on vaccines. They warned that vaccine risks were being overstated, the benefits being downplayed, and guidance rolled out over social media posts instead of through scientific review. And in their view, that's not reforming the CDC, that's dismantling it. Their hope now is that Congress will step up and provide the oversight it is tasked with providing. So as we're all watching this unfold, help us understand why there are so many changes when it comes to the HHS vaccine guidance and why that is so key to this debate. So normally vaccine guidance comes after months of review by CDC scientists and outside experts. Instead, Secretary Kennedy announced sweeping changes on social media, saying COVID vaccines would no longer be offered to healthy children and pregnant women without any consultation with the CDC. So the process matters. Science is all about process. So we talk about the scientific process and the how matters. That's how you know this is something that's trustworthy and not about politics or ideology. And I think what will make this real for most people is when routine childhood vaccinations come into question. And when that goes away and more kids end up in the hospital horribly sick, as they did in West Texas and elsewhere earlier this year, I think that's when it will start to hit people. All right, Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you so much for your time.

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Breakdown