Former CDC Director Raises Alarm on Childhood Vaccine Schedule Changes

On Wednesday, Susan Monarez, PhD, former director of the CDC, appeared before a panel of the Senate, testifying that proposed changes to the childhood vaccine schedule—including measles, chickenpox, hepatitis B, and COVID-19 shots—lack scientific backing. She is joined by Debra Houry, MD, MPH, former chief medical officer of the CDC, who is 1 of 3 senior officials at the CDC who resigned last month.

The hearing spotlighted turmoil within the CDC, particularly surrounding changes to vaccine policy and the dismissal of Monarez. Lawmakers pressed witnesses on the absence of scientific evidence supporting proposed revisions to the childhood vaccine schedule. Both Monarez and Houry testified that they had not seen any supporting data and expressed serious concerns about the integrity of the decision-making process.

A central focus was the role of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who was alleged to have pressured Monarez to approve recommendations without evidence and to have replaced all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Both witnesses highlighted transparency issues, censorship, and the sidelining of CDC experts from key policy discussions. Questions also arose over the qualifications of the newly appointed ACIP members and the reliability of their recommendations.

Moreover, both Monarez and Houry warned that politicizing vaccine policy could have dangerous consequences for public health. Weakening or undermining established recommendations, they argued, risks fueling vaccine hesitancy and triggering new outbreaks of preventable diseases.

This story will be updated.