Overview
- Dr. Debra Houry publicly told CBS News on Monday, July 6, 2026, that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has done "irreparable harm" to the CDC and to public confidence in the agency.
- Houry, who resigned from the CDC in August 2025 along with several senior leaders after the agency director Susan Monarez was forced out, said she left because she could no longer protect the agency's scientific integrity.
- A Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and de Beaumont Foundation survey of 2,205 adults found trust in CDC recommendations fell to 50 percent in March–April 2026 from 77 percent in spring 2025.
- Houry and other former officials have pointed to changes in vaccine messaging, what they call "overstating of risks," and the spread of misinformation as factors that have reduced uptake and contributed to higher counts of measles and other vaccine-preventable cases.
- The controversy follows operational strains including a deadly shooting at the CDC's Atlanta headquarters and state moves to remove links to CDC guidance, raising concerns that the agency's capacity to respond to outbreaks and protect communities has been weakened.