\u2022 Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
\u2022 Debra Houry, former chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science
\u2022 Daniel Jernigan, former director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
\u2022 Jennifer Layden, former director of office of public health data, science, technology<\/p>\n
Each of these individuals has a deep background and education in medicine, healthcare, or public health. None of then should have been expected compromise themselves to support our nation\u2019s public health.<\/p>\n
None of them should have been treated so shabbily by RFK Jr.\u2019s shit-tastic management of HHS. It\u2019s not at all hyperbole to call it shit-tastic; I strongly recommend listening to The New York Times\u2019 podcast interview with Demetre Daskalakis<\/a> because it will rid you of any doubt the label is deserved.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an excerpt I found particularly telling:<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Yeah. So this was not related to ACIP, the announcement by the Secretary to change the childhood schedule. I learned about the change of the childhood schedule on X.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: You learned about it on social media \u2014<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Yes, ma\u2019am.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: \u2014 like the rest of us.<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: That is correct.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Wow.<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: So I was sitting in a meeting with senior leaders at CDC. And as I was sitting there talking about the outbreaks that I was managing, my phone blew up with, \u201cI didn\u2019t know you guys were changing the children\u2019s schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n ABRAMS: People texting you?<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Yeah.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Wow.<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Not from HHS, people in the world. Because they saw \u2014<\/p>\n ABRAMS: People in the world, your friends and family or whoever seeing this and being like, this doesn\u2019t sound like you.<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Correct. So we then asked the question, what\u2019s going on? Can we see some kind of documentation? Because they were like, implement the change. But we\u2019ve never seen anything in writing, so we asked if we could see the supporting data that led to the decision. And we were told no.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Just flat out no?<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Flat out no.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: But can I ask you, did you ever actually have a conversation with Kennedy about any of this or any of his senior staffers?<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: No.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Or is it just that \u2014<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: No.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: No communication.<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: No.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: Did you ever try?<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Yes.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: And what would happen?<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: So we offered to do briefings when he first started. I think some people were able to brief some lower level staff, but not staff that were Secretary Kennedy\u2019s staff. So no one from my center has ever briefed the Secretary.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: On anything.<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: Correct, on anything.<\/p>\n ABRAMS: So basically, don\u2019t have a line into RFK, and he\u2019s not seeking out your advice or the advice of people who are theoretically supposed to advise him on things like this. How did you feel about that at the time?<\/p>\n DASKALAKIS: I felt that this was highly atypical, that we weren\u2019t able to share our expertise up the chain to be able to provide information that could be meaningful and thought process. And so what I kept thinking was, we\u2019re not doing this, but there sure is a point of view up there. I wonder who\u2019s doing it.<\/p>\n My job is to make sure that we\u2019re giving good science so people can make good decisions. And if I can\u2019t make sure that science is untouched by non-scientific influence, I cannot say that I\u2019m doing my job.<\/p>\n I believe that CDC science is going to be compromised by HHS. And if that science becomes biased, if it gets unduly influenced, then I can\u2019t have my name on that science as something that I think should be used to make important decisions for people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n Again, I strongly recommend listening to this podcast<\/a>. The other disturbing facet is the way in which Abrams just plows on; it could be an artifact of editing, but it could be another of the many ways in which media has not paused and shouted at the public how disturbing and inappropriate are RFK Jr.\u2019s and Trump\u2019s management of public health, in a misguided effort to remain neutral about a subject which isn\u2019t and can\u2019t be neutral at all.<\/p>\n How can a US media outlet be neutral in the face of what looks increasingly like an occupation of government agencies by hostile forces? In the case of the CDC under RFK Jr.\u2019s HHS, it\u2019s damaging the administration of vaccinations to the entire country while undermining the nation\u2019s ability to respond to pandemic and bioterrorism, not to mention its ability to safely provide basic healthcare. No one will be unaffected; no one can be neutral.<\/p>\n ~ ~ ~<\/p>\n I\u2019m not kidding when I say our healthcare is now utterly compromised. Our first responders and healthcare providers can\u2019t be assured of necessary vaccinations. From an ER doctor on Mastodon<\/a>:<\/p>\n This is absolute bullshit.<\/p>\n One of the biggest purveyors of anti-vaccine propaganda<\/a>, one without any healthcare education and training, has decided the persons most likely to be exposed to diseases on a daily basis are no longer eligible for COVID vaccinations if they do not have a limited number of pre-existing chronic health problems. From Jen Bendery on Bluesky<\/a>:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot_Mstdn_McNadoMD-COVIDShot_28AUG2025_1243amET-300x189.jpg\")
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