Monarez: ‘I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity’
“I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence, fire career officials without cause or resign,” Monarez said. “I told the secretary that if he believed he could not trust me, he could fire me.
“I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity,” she added.
Monarez went on to say that she met with Kennedy twice in her 29-day tenure.
Key events
Republican senators spar over Monarez contacting health committee
In a line of questioning, Republican senator Ashley Moody, of Florida, seemed to suggest that Dr Monarez planned her removal from the CDC.
Moody questioned why Monarez called senator Cassidy – the Republican committee chair – “immediately” about her claims that secretary Kennedy demanded she issue blanket approvals of vaccine recommendations, without seeing scientific evidence.
“I committed during my confirmation process several elements, including integrity, transparency, working with Congress, but she had no advance plan with any colleagues,” Monarez said.
Cassidy also pushed back against his Republican colleague’s insinuation.
It is entirely appropriate for someone with oversight concerns to contact my office, or me, or, frankly, any of us. Upon receiving outreach from Dr Monarez, I contacted both the secretary and the White House to inquire what was happening and to express concerns about what was alleged. As soon as the director was fired, the HELP Committee began reviewing the situation, as it is our responsibility, and any and all communications with the witnesses was conducted by help staff in coordination with attorneys.
Monarez and Houry say that future pandemics ‘keep them up at night’
When asked what keeps them “up at night” by Democratic senator John Hickenlooper, of Colorado, both Dr Monarez and Dr Houry expressed their fears for how the country might respond to any future pandemic.
“I don’t believe that we’ll be prepared,” Monarez said of the next outbreak.
“I’m concerned about the future of CDC and public health in our country,” Houry added. “We are not prepared, not just for pandemics, but for preventing chronic health disease, and we’re going to see kids dying of vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Monarez is now responding to questions from Republican senator Jim Banks, of Indiana, and says that the “only thing” that has changed in terms of her priorities were the “demands” for Monarez to “compromise” her integrity.
“I still support that we need to make our children healthier,” she said.
Monarez went on to summarize, again, what transpired in that consequential meeting with Kennedy.
“It had been clear that I was not going to fire scientists, that I was not going to pre-commit to pre-approving vaccine recommendations about data and science. I had been very alarmed at the demands, and I had reached out as part of what I understood my obligations to communicate that to this committee. The secretary became aware of that, and in the context of those activities, he told me he could not trust me,” she laid out. “I told him that if he could not trust me, he could fire me.”
In response to a question from Republican senator Tommy Tuberville, of Alabama, Monarez says she did not refuse to change language on the CDC website that would violate the executive order issued by Donald Trump, for federal agencies to delete references to diversity, equity and inclusion online.
Kennedy did not express condolences for killed police officer at CDC shooting, Monarez says
After a short break, lawmakers are now back. Democratic senator Maggie Hassan, of New Hampshire, kicked things off by saying that she was “unsure” about whether Monarez would “stand up to Secretary Kennedy”, but went on to thank the former director on her recent actions.
Monarez was visibly upset when she recounted Kennedy’s response after telling him that she needed to consult scientific evidence before making decisions on vaccine recommendations.
“He made another set of assertions associated with CDC that were particularly pointed and particularly hurtful and disparaging. He called, in that context, CDC ‘the most corrupt federal agency in the world’,” Monarez said. “He said that CDC employees were killing children and they don’t care. He said that CDC employees were bought by the pharmaceutical industry. He said CDC forced people to wear masks and social distance like a dictatorship.”
Monarez later said, when asked about his conduct in that meeting, that Kennedy did not express condolences for the death of David Rose, the police officer who was killed during the recent shooting at the CDC, or the two children who died of measles earlier this year.
One of the more heated exchanges in today’s hearing was between Republican senator Rand Paul, of Kentucky, and Monarez.
As my colleague, Melody Schreiber, notes, Paul falsely claimed that Covid vaccines don’t decrease transmission and don’t reduce hospitalizations or deaths.
Monarez disagreed, and pushed back on the senator’s assertions.
Dr Houry also detailed the way the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded differently to the measles outbreak earlier this year. Houry noted that neither she, nor the center director who oversaw measles, never briefed Kennedy. Typically, it would be a common response to hold a briefing following an outbreak.
Then, Houry said that Kennedy claimed “vaccines had fetal parts”, which required her to “send a note to our leadership team to correct that misinformation”.
Monarez and Houry both express concern about outcome of upcoming vaccine advisory committee
Both Dr Monarez and Dr Houry both expressed their concerns about the decisions that the vaccine advisory committee meeting tomorrow will make. “I know that the medical community has raised concerns about whether or not, again, they have the commensurate backgrounds to be able to understand the data and the evidence and to evaluate it appropriately,” Monarez said. “I don’t know what will happen, but I certainly will be watching.”
Meanwhile Houry said she had “significant concerns” as the public had not been able to weigh in. “The general vote should have been posted two weeks ago so the public knew what was being discussed,” the former chief medical officer of the CDC said.
Earlier, Houry said that she found out about the new Covid-19 vaccine recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration via social media.
“CDC scientists have still not seen the scientific data or justification for this change – that is not gold standard science,” Houry added.
Monarez says she was fired for refusing to offer a ‘blanket approval’ of upcoming vaccine recommendations
Earlier Monarez said that Kennedy demanded “blanket approval” of “each and every one of the recommendations” in the upcoming vaccine advisory panel meeting. Monarez claimed that Kennedy said if she couldn’t do that she would need to resign.
“I did not resign, and that is when he told me he had already spoken to the White House about having me removed,” Monarez said.
Monarez went on to push back on Kennedy’s claims that she was “a liar” in his Senate finance committee earlier this month.
When Senator Bernie Sanders asked Monarez why she refused to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without seeing them or the evidence behind them, the former CDC director explained that it wasn’t negotiable.
“I refused to do it because I have built a career on scientific integrity, and my worst fear was that I would then be in a position of approving something that would reduce access of life-saving vaccines to children and others who need them,” she said.
Cassidy just confirmed with Dr Debra Houry – the former chief medical officer – that Thursday’s upcoming vaccine advisory committee is the first in Houry’s 10 years at the CDC where political appointees have set the agenda for the meeting.
Typically, scientists who study inoculations and infectious disease set the agenda. But Houry said that “the senior adviser and HHS counselor worked with our staff and the designated federal official and proposed items.” Both of those roles are political appointees.
