(Washington) of ex-directors of the American health agency alarmed themselves on Sunday of the “destruction” of public health policy, particularly in terms of vaccination, by the administration of Donald Trump, accused of politicizing and of “ideologizing” science.
Faced with the open conflict between centers for the control and prevention of diseases (CDC), national public health organization, and the secretary of health Robert Kennedy Jr, known for his anti-vaccine positions, the left senator Bernie Sanders called for his resignation.
Read the Chronicle of Yves Boisvert: “The moronization of the United States ”
The crisis broke out with the announcement this week of the dismissal of the CDC Director of CDC, Susan Monarez, after less than a month in office.
Photo Kayla Bartkowski, Agence France-Presse Archives
Susan Monarez, ex-general of CDC
In the process, the boss responsible for the policy of vaccination and the fight against respiratory illnesses-like the COVVI-19-within the Federal Agency, Demeter Daskalakis, slammed the door, as well as several senior officials.
“I’ve been worried about months,” said the doctor on ABC News. But “I did not imagine that (…) the border between science and the ideology would be totally abacted”.
According to his lawyers, the former CDC chef refused “to validate non-scientific and dangerous directives” desired by secretary Kennedy.
Instead of this scientist, the White House will appoint Jim O’Neill, RFK JR right arm and ex-financial sector in the technology sector, as acting director of CDCs, according to the Washington Post.
“Not having a scientific leader at the head of the CDC means that we will not be able to negotiate with the Department of Health to truly implement a good public health policy,” deplored Mr. Daskalakis.
“Unprecedented”
Worse, for Tom Frieden, who led CDC from 2009 to 2017 under the two presidencies of Democrat Barack Obama, “public health is attacked”.
Photo John Bazemore, Associated Press Archives
Tom Frieden, ex-director of CDC
“What we are witnessing is unprecedented. Never has a CDC director had been dismissed, “he said on CNN about Mme Monarez.
According to Mr. Frieden, “it is no longer possible to have confidence in what emanates from the department of health or CDC”.
He denounced “the many damage” inflicted on “the fight against tobacco, advances for the quality of tap water” and “the dismantling of vaccination infrastructure”.
“They destroy our health protections,” concluded the doctor.
His predecessor, an acting at the head of the health agency in 2009, Richard Beser, reaffirmed on ABC News the “absolutely crucial CDC role to protect Americans in the face of any health threat”.
He fears “what will happen in this country when we are faced with a public health emergency, either a massive earthquake, or an infectious agent or, unfortunately, a next pandemic”.
Politically, independent senator Bernie Sanders, candidate for democratic primaries in 2016, accused RFK JR of “endangered now and in the future the health of the Americans”.
“He must resign,” he demanded in a column of New York Times.
