RFK Jr. rails against CDC listing vaccines among top medical advances

A day after Susan Monarez, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was fired by the White House after clashing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he lashed out at the "priorities" of the agency.

"The CDC has problems," he said in an interview on Aug. 28 with Fox & Friends.

Kennedy, whose views on vaccines are at odds with the overwhelming majority of doctors, then went on rail against what the agency website lists as the 10 greatest advances in medicine, including vaccines.

"One of them is abortion. Another is fluoridation and another is vaccines," he said. "So we need to look at the priorities of the agency. If there's really a deeply, deeply embedded, I would say, malaise at the agency."

Kennedy has advocated for curbs on fluoridation in public drinking water as part of what he calls his "Make America Healthy Again" mission. States such as Utah and Florida have banned fluoride in public drinking water, while scientists and dental health organizations have warned that Kennedy's plan is disastrous for public health.

The CDC website lists family planning, not abortions, on its website. It also lists "recognition of tobacco as a health hazard."

Monarez, who spent just a few weeks in her position was removed for not being "aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again," Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

Kennedy refused to comment on her firing during the interview.

Monarez’s ouster was followed by resignations from three other top CDC officials in protest of Kennedy's leadership. In June, Kennedy fired all 17 members of a committee that advises the CDC on vaccine safety and replaced them with new members, some of whom have advocated against vaccines.

Monarez's attorneys, Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell, in a statement posted to X, accused Kennedy and the HHS of "weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk."

They said she was targeted because she "refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts."

Contributing: Joey Garrison

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal