Dr. Susan Monarez, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head who was ousted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., thinks that his upheaval of the CDC will lead to the return of diseases America hasn’t seen in decades, including polio.
“What is your concern? What are the long-term implications for the well-being of our kids and the future of our country if faith in vaccine science is undermined?” Senator Bernie Sanders asked Monarez, who was testifying before the Senate about Kennedy Jr.’s time at HHS.
Sen. Sanders: “What are the long-term implications for the well-being of our kids and the future of our country if faith in vaccine science is undermined?”Dr. Monarez: “I believe preventable diseases will return. And I believe that we will have our children harmed for things… pic.twitter.com/D2Z3CBZma0
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) September 17, 2025
“I believe preventable diseases will return,” Monarez responded. “And I believe that we will have our children harmed for things that we know they do not need to be harmed by. Polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough. I worry about the ramifications for those children, in illness and in death. I worry about our school systems. I worry about our medical institutions having to take care of sick kids that could have been prevented by effective and safe vaccines. I worry about the future of trust in public health.”
This is an absolutely damning response from a former CDC head who said she was pushed out of a job that used to value science and research for reasons that were likely completely political. It’s hard to see Monarez’s firing by Kennedy as purely coincidental, as her extensive research background in immunology and microbiology directly contradicts Kennedy’s pseudoscientific MAHA agenda.
“Would you agree with me in suggesting that the overwhelming body of scientific and medical thought believes that vaccines have been a major public health advance for the people of this world?” Sanders followed up.
“I absolutely agree with that,” Monarez replied.
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