Joyce N. Boghosian / Official White House / Flickr
Furthering the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative is proving to be a tumultuous endeavor – as are most attempts to break from the status quo.
Public health expert Susan Monarez, Ph.D. was sworn in Thursday as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Monarez, who was confirmed Tuesday in a 52-47 Senate vote, has been serving as acting CDC director, but is the first in the official position that now requires confirmation by the US Senate.
According to a press release at CDC, Monarez “brings decades of frontline experience in disaster preparedness, biosecurity, and health innovation. As CDC Director, she will lead the agency in its renewed mission to prevent disease and defend against health threats at home and abroad—advancing President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s broader vision to Make America Healthy Again.”
Monarez, Kennedy said in a social media post, “is a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials.”
“I have full confidence in her ability to restore [the CDC’s] role as the most trusted authority in public health and to strengthen our nation’s readiness to confront infectious diseases and biosecurity threats,” the secretary added.
Monarez earned her doctoral degree in microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research areas included “developing technologies aimed at the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases,” CDC states.
Monarez, however, is a controversial choice for many supporters of Trump and the MAHA vision. President Donald Trump withdrew his initial pick for the role – former Rep. Dave Weldon of Florida – following concerns about lack of sufficient Republican support due to Weldon’s skeptical views of vaccines.
In response to Kennedy’s post, scientist and Big Pharma whistleblower Dr. Jane Ruby posted a clip of Monarez’s confirmation hearing in June, during which vaccine proponent Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, questioned her about whether she accepts “the safety” of the mRNA shots “in general.”
“The FDA has, in the production of the COVID-19 vaccine, had approved the mRNA vaccines as safe and demonstrated efficacy associated with them,” Monarez stated.
“So, you would not be prejudiced from the get-go against such a platform, such a vaccine built upon a platform, whether it’s for COVID, flu, for Lyme disease, or anything else?” Cassidy asked.
“I have no … prejudices against mRNA platform or any other approach that is being taken to develop vaccines,” Monarez replied, “and that is why we have safety and efficacy standards that the FDA puts in place for any of these medical product trials – to ensure that anything that is being developed we can have the confidence that we can put it in ourselves and our children and families.”
Other X users responded to Kennedy’s post with calls for the mRNA shots to be entirely pulled from the marketplace and for an overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule:
Scientist and physician Robert Malone, M.D. – recently appointed by Kennedy to CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) – wrote Wednesday at his Substack column that while he doesn’t know Monarez, he trusts Kennedy’s judgment.
Malone added that while little is known about Monarez, she is said to have expertise in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use in evaluating data regarding vaccines.
“The risks associated with AI must be managed – and there are risks,” he observed. “We need leaders who understand the risks and can still utilize AI to our advantage. There is an ever-creeping public health mindset that mandates and insurance-driven health protocols are the way to control populations. This mindset has to end. Yet, the use of AI in protocol-driven medicine is real. So, there is a real tension there that has to be carefully navigated.”
“I am hopeful that Dr. Monarez will work towards this goal,” he said.
While Monarez was being confirmed by the Senate, Dr. Vinay Prasad – the top vaccine regulator and chief scientific officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – left his post that he held for less than three months.
Prasad’s departure came following a fiery exposé by investigative journalist and activist Laura Loomer, who labeled him a “leftist saboteur undermining Trump’s FDA” and brought forward the receipts.
“A wolf in sheep’s clothing is sabotaging President Trump’s bold ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) agenda,” Loomer charged, referring to Prasad as “a self-proclaimed progressive liberal and Bernie Sanders fanboy” who “has wormed his way into a top FDA role as Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) after he was appointed by RFK Jr.”
“This is no mere bureaucratic misstep,” Loomer asserted. “It’s a catastrophic vetting failure that threatens to derail the America First healthcare revolution. Prasad’s anti-Trump rhetoric, radical left-wing ideology, and deliberate actions to obstruct our President’s deregulatory mission prove he’s a dangerous misfit. The time to act is NOW—Prasad must be REMOVED before he destroys Trump’s vision for a healthier America!”
Prasad worked with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to tighten approvals for COVID mRNA booster shots, recommending they only be approved for adults, age 65 and over, and for people at high risk for serious disease.
Politico reported Wednesday that Trump “overruled” Kennedy and Makary in ordering the firing of Prasad.
In an interview with CNBC, Makary called Prasad a “genius” who made “tremendous” policy changes during his short tenure.
The FDA commissioner added Prasad departed to avoid being a “distraction.”
“We’re going to continue to talk to him,” Makary reportedly said.
According to Politico, Sen. Rand Paul, R, of Kentucky, said he was concerned pharmaceutical companies may have contributed to Prasad’s removal.
“I’ve been a longtime fan of Vinay Prasad,” Paul reportedly said. “Followed him and a lot of his comments on evidence-based science, so I’m disappointed.”
Malone, however, wrote Prasad “always seemed an odd choice for the job – he lacked substantial prior regulatory experience before taking the CBER post.”
“Frankly, DC is a rough and tumble place, and I am not sure he realized precisely what he was getting into,” he observed.
