Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez has left the role just weeks after being sworn in, the Health and Human Services department said on Wednesday.
In a post on X, the department said Monarez is longer director and thanked her for “her dedicated service to the American people.”
At least four other officials also submitted their resignations on Wednesday in a massive shakeup at the agency: Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology.
Houry, in a resignation letter obtained by NBC News, wrote about the dangers of the spread of vaccine misinformation and said proposed budget cuts and reorganization plans would negatively impact the CDC’s ability to address conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, overdoses and mental health issues.
In his resignation letter, also obtained by NBC News, Daskalakis said he was leaving the agency “because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health.”
