HHS Secretary RFK Jr: Needs to be Replaced ASAP as Threat to Public Health & Safety

HHS Secretary Kennedy at war with NIH and CDC 

Subject of highest concern for the entire country & world: RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee. Key points in AP ARTICLE here: 

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the CDC on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. 

Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the HHS Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Kennedy, who was one of the nation’s leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation’s top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta. 

NOTE: Although it’s typically not viewed as a partisan board, the entire current roster of committee members were Joe Biden appointees. 

Kennedy said about that: “Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028. A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine

science.”

FYI: The laid-off scientists include Richard Youle who has served at NIH since 1978, carries the title of distinguished investigator, a designation reserved for the agency's most preeminent researchers. He was the winner of the $3 million real break through Prize in Life Sciences in 2021 for his research into Parkinson's disease. 

A scientist familiar with Youle's work, who spoke anonymously fearing retaliation, praised Youle's research as a "fundamentally important breakthrough for the field." 

Youle's results had paved the way for researchers to find new treatments for Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders NIH said in its news release. 

Ten other senior investigators: Miguel Holmgren, Steve Jacobson, Dorian McGavern, Joseph Mindell, Katherine Roche, Zu-Hang Sheng, David R. Sibley, Kenton Swartz, Susan Wray, and Ling-Gang Wu – were also laid off according to records shared with CBS News. 

A senior associate scientist, Silvina Horowitz, got a layoff notice as well, the records show. Among the scientists who have received major recognition for their work in recent years include Wu, who was selected for a prestigious award in February from the Biophysical Society for his ongoing research on how neurons communicate & function.

Sibley was recognized in 2023 by a pharmacology society for seminal contributions to understanding dopamine receptors in the brain.

Note: Kennedy told a Senate health committee at a hearing on May 14 that the only cuts they had made to date were "administrative cuts." 

He then added: "As far as I know, we have not fired any working scientists, the working scientists, the people who are actually doing science. There are some people who were scientists that were doing IT or administration, who did lose their jobs. But in terms of working scientists, our policy was to make sure none of them were lost that that research continues."

NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and senior leaders within the department were made aware weeks ago about the layoffs, multiple sources told CBS News. Bhattacharya and others previously said that they were mistakes and would be reversed soon.

Now, weeks have passed since those assurances were made to the scientists. Multiple sources said the scientists have yet to receive any letters revoking their "reduction in force or RIF notices, or an explanation for why moves to reverse their layoffs never occurred."

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My 2 Cents: Kennedy is a horrible choice for HHS in any official authority, period, non-stop. He must be removed, and  the sooner highlighted the above article as stated. 

He is useless and worthless in this key health related position and quite frankly, he is a danger to the nation's public health.

That's about all I can say - he has be go and ASAP would be best for the country. But, under Trump and this GOP government grip that seems highly unlikely, and sadly. 

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