President Donald Trump demanded Monday that drug manufacturers publicly prove their COVID-19 vaccines are effective, breaking his silence on the leadership turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has highlighted tensions with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a Labor Day morning post on Truth Social, Trump said the CDC is “being ripped apart” over vaccine questions and pressed pharmaceutical companies to release effectiveness data. “I want them to show them NOW, to CDC and the public, and clear up this MESS, one way or the other!!!” he wrote.
This statement comes after Trump fired CDC Director Susan Monarez last week following her refusal to implement Kennedy’s vaccine policy changes. Four other senior CDC officials resigned in protest, citing what they called the “weaponization of public health.”
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Read: CDC Director Fired After Refusing to Resign, Senior Officials Quit in Protest
Trump appeared to hedge on vaccine effectiveness while protecting his legacy, writing: “I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???”
Is Trump trying to distance himself from Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda while avoiding direct criticism of his health secretary? Kennedy has restricted COVID vaccine access, fired vaccine advisory committee members, and faces reports that the administration may pull COVID vaccines from the market entirely.
“Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!” Trump wrote, appearing to take a neutral stance rather than defending the vaccines he previously championed.
The FDA last week limited new COVID vaccines to adults 65 and older and high-risk individuals, ending broader authorizations that had covered all Americans 6 months and up.
Nine former CDC directors from both parties warned in a New York Times op-ed Monday that Kennedy’s changes are “endangering the entire nation” and represent a “systematic dismantling of public health institutions.”
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