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Nirav Shah is an epidemiologist, attorney, and public health professional who formerly led the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He most recently served as the principal deputy director at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is now a visiting professor at Colby College.
At a time of increasing public health risks, America cannot afford chaos at the top of its public health system. And yet that is precisely what we face under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. His failures have set policy back years and leave us less prepared for the next public health crisis. For the health and safety of the American people, I believe Secretary Kennedy should resign.
In recent weeks, Kennedy has re-deployed his playbook to undermine public health in this country. He denied making changes to vaccine availability despite clearly doing so, rejected basic medical science by falsely claiming an ability to spot rare disorders in children, and disparaged CDC and other public health officials. While cases of measles mount, an Ebola outbreak intensifies in Africa, and avian influenza remains a threat, Kennedy fired the members of a key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee and wound down support for mRNA vaccine technology, making numerous false claims in explaining his decision.
As an epidemiologist and public health professional, I want to be clear: none of these moves makes America healthy again, which is the secretary’s stated goal. Instead, they leave us less safe at a time when other countries are improving their pandemic preparedness.
Rather than respond to tough questions with substance and data, Kennedy defaults to the same tired excuse: accusing his critics of being captured by the pharmaceutical industry, all while HHS itself seems to be in the thrall of the wellness industry.
In a telling exchange before the U.S. Senate Finance committee last week, Kennedy did not know how many Americans had died of COVID, blaming his lack of knowledge on the “data chaos coming out of CDC.” Again, the playbook is the same: when you don’t know something, blame the system rather than take personal accountability. When our country’s top health official shrugs at not knowing basic facts about COVID, it puts every American at risk. Ignorance should not be the new competence.
All of this is made worse by the fact that the secretary is not being briefed by CDC experts, raising the critical question of who he is obtaining information from. If a general were making battle plans based on preconceived notions — without actual input from lieutenants in the field — we would all be alarmed. Yet Kennedy appears unwilling to listen to career CDC scientists whose data may challenge his ideological beliefs. His reluctance, if not refusal, to hear from scientists who contradict him ultimately leaves us all less safe.
If you find the turmoil at the top of the federal government confusing, know that you are not alone. Confusion is the apparent goal. It is not a byproduct of inept management; it is among the intended outcomes — designed, it seems, to create enough background noise and obstacles around vaccination that people decide to opt out. By sowing doubt about vaccines, Kennedy has left you confused about how to keep you and your family healthy this fall.
Mainers should not be confused. The fact remains that vaccination is the best defense against viruses like COVID, influenza and RSV. Prominent medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have broken with the HHS to ensure that Americans know that the COVID vaccine rarely causes serious side effects, is effective and recommended for a variety of age groups. Recognizing that vaccine information on the CDC website may no longer be entirely trustworthy, other groups, such as the Vaccine Integrity Project, are stepping up to fill the informational void.
These expert groups continue to recommend that all eligible individuals obtain their vaccines to stay as safe and healthy as possible. And those who have questions should reach out to their health care provider for the latest information. Sadly, HHS’s recent moves may make vaccines harder to find, access, and pay for. But I urge Mainers to focus on trusted sources and not be snowed by the chaos. The health, safety, and future of our communities are on the line.
As Maine CDC director, I had three guiding principles: protect the health and safety of all Mainers; be guided by science, not politics; and be truthful and transparent, without fear or favor. Those principles are sadly absent among our federal health leadership right now. Until HHS is led by someone who takes science seriously, we remain vulnerable. Mainers — and all Americans — deserve better.