Fired CDC director clashes with Kennedy over vaccine policy

Officials were fired, and the disease control system was in turmoil

On August 28, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the dismissal of CDC Director Susan Monares for being "inconsistent with the President's mission." Monares had refused to implement policy requests that were "contrary to science and the law," including adopting the recommendations of a new advisory committee dominated by anti-vaccine advocates and refusing to disband her core team.

Her departure set off a chain reaction. Three senior CDC officials—Debra Houry, Demetre Daskalakis, and Daniel Jernigan—resigned shortly thereafter. Hundreds of CDC employees outside Atlanta's headquarters wore green shirts as a symbol of support for science and public health.

  U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Texas Governor Greg Abbott attend a press conference at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S., on August 28, 2025.

Policy conflict: the tug-of-war between science and politics

Since becoming HHS Secretary this year, Kennedy has overhauled vaccine policy, disbanding an expert advisory committee and replacing it with anti-vaccine advocates. He has mandated that the CDC adopt all new committee recommendations, rather than maintaining independent decision-making authority. This challenged the CDC's long-held scientific independence.

Experts point out that the CDC recently abandoned its recommendation for pregnant women to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and reduced the scope of vaccination for some children, which has been severely criticized by the academic community. Monares previously emphasized at his confirmation hearing that "there is no evidence that vaccines are linked to autism." This position is consistent with mainstream science but contradicts Kennedy's views.

Investor Sentiment and Public Trust

After the news came out, investor and public sentiment diverged:

• Risk concerns: Some healthcare stocks and biotech ETFs fluctuated due to market concerns that vaccine development and public health budgets may be hampered.

• Confidence Crack: The scientific community and medical institutions expressed concern about policy uncertainty and called for maintaining an evidence-based epidemic prevention system.

• Investor sentiment: The market atmosphere has shifted from cautious to wait-and-see. Investors are concerned not only about the fundamentals of the healthcare sector, but also about the credibility of the United States in global public health.

Overall, there was no panic selling in the market, but public health and policy games led investors to adopt defensive allocations.

Global and future impact

Against the backdrop of highly divided US politics, the CDC's independence is being challenged, and public health policy may become increasingly influenced by politics. This will not only impact domestic epidemic prevention and control and vaccine development in the US, but could also undermine its leadership in international public health cooperation.

For investors, uncertainty is increasing in the healthcare and public health sectors, and long-term value still depends on whether science can once again become the cornerstone of policy. In the short term, a more rational strategy is to carefully monitor the trends of relevant medical companies, the public health supply chain, and the global vaccine market.

Public health concerns everyone and also affects market confidence. Maintaining rationality and relying on science are key to investment and social stability.

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Further reading

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