Can the CDC survive?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based in DeKalb County, has battled illnesses and contagions since 1946; but there may be a threat more deadly to the national public health agency than any known virus or bacteria: the spread of misinformation.
In an opinion published in The New York Times recently, nine former CDC directors said the nation is facing “endangerment of every American’s health” due to the “dangerous” actions of United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The timing of the opinion is pertinent: it follows President Donald Trump’s firing of former CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, a move supported by Kennedy, on Aug. 27. Four top officials then resigned in protest of Monarez’s dismissal as staff demonstrations flared up at CDC headquarters.
It appears by accounts of various news sources that Kennedy and Monarez clashed over a topic that has been catapulted to the top of the conspiracy theory hierarchy by none other than the man in charge of this country’s health and human services himself – vaccines.
“The New York Times op-ed claims Monarez was fired for refusing to approve Kennedy’s ‘dangerous and unfounded vaccine recommendations’ and declining to dismiss senior CDC staff. They accuse Kennedy of downplaying measles vaccines and replacing qualified experts with ‘unqualified individuals who share his dangerous and unscientific views,” described an article on NBC’s website.
Those who want to blame vaccines for everything from mental illnesses to death may want to take a closer look at a violent attack perpetrated on the CDC less than a month ago, when a conspiracy theorist who spouted similar distrust of the COVID-19 vaccine as Kennedy then shot more than 500 bullets at the public health agency’s campus, murdering a DeKalb County police officer before killing himself.
Misinformation is having real – and dire – consequences as it spreads like an infectious disease across this country. Unfortunately, this may be a national health crisis where no CDC scientist or professional can find a cure to eradicate it before it’s too late.
