In fiery Senate testimony this week, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once again set his sights on the nation's top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
His appearance came days after he suddenly fired the new CDC director, Susan Monarez, provoking a group of senior staff to resign in protest.
At the hearing, when asked for an explanation, Kennedy claimed he had asked Ms. Monarez if she was a trustworthy person and she had replied no, to some disbelief from his opponents in the room.
He then admitted he had once described the CDC as the most corrupt agency in government, and strongly hinted he's not finished with his plans to shake up the organisation.
Kennedy's words have sparked a furious backlash, with many doctors and scientists increasingly concerned that America's public health systems are being dangerously compromised.
It's a conflict that could have a significant impact not just on health policy in the US but across the world. In the past, the CDC has been instrumental in global health, leading the response to crises from famine to HIV to Ebola.
Founded in 1946, the CDC tracks emerging infectious diseases like Covid and is also tasked with tackling long-term or chronic conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
It operates more than 200 specialised laboratories and employs 13,000 people, although that number has been cut by around 2,000 since President Donald Trump returned to office.
It does not approve or licence vaccines. That responsibility lies with the Food and Drug Administration. But it does produce official recommendations on who should receive which vaccines through a panel of experts - known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) - and monitors their side effects and other safety concerns.
Kennedy's record on vaccines particularly worried many public health experts when he took office in February.
An activist group he ran for eight years, Children's Health Defense, repeatedly questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccination. He has described the Covid jab as the most deadly in history and has blamed rising rates of autism on vaccines, an idea that has been categorically debunked by large scientific studies over many years.
So feathers were seriously ruffled just weeks into his tenure when it emerged he had hired a noted vaccine critic, David Geier, to look again at the CDC data on that scientifically disproven link.
In his testimony, Kennedy stood his ground, accusing her of lying about that exchange and describing her dismissal as absolutely necessary. He stated, We need bold, competent and creative new leadership at CDC, people able and willing to chart a new course. His testimony occurred amid criticism regarding a lackluster response to a shooting at the CDC headquarters.
As public scrutiny intensifies, the CDC's upcoming vaccine advisory panel meeting on September 18 will likely be a pivotal moment for health policy moving forward, echoing concerns not just within the US, but potentially impacting global health responses.
