Dozens of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees and leaders went on strike Thursday in response to internal changes affecting top federal health officials.
Importance: The CDC is experiencing internal unrest that escalated Wednesday when its director was fired and other officials resigned in a wave of resignations.
Highlights: Employees began their “clap-out” protest—in which employees marched, held up signs, and clapped—on Thursday outside the CDC headquarters in Atlanta in support of the resigning employees, according to one employee participating in the protest who requested anonymity for fear of repercussions.
The employee and multiple media outlets reported that the resigning senior officials were removed from CDC offices around 10 a.m. Thursday morning.
Remembrance: The “clap-out” protest comes as new policies announced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear to be forcing the resignation of top officials.
On Wednesday, Susan Monarriz was removed from her position as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just weeks after being sworn in. Her lawyers immediately denied allegations of her departure. The White House confirmed her dismissal.
Dimitri Daskalakis, who was director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, stated that recent policy changes related to the COVID-19 vaccine are threatening lives and that there is a “deliberate erosion of confidence in low-risk vaccines.”
Other departing officials include Debra Horry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, and Daniel Jernigan, director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, according to Axios.
The Big Picture: CDC employees and other national health professionals have revolted against Kennedy in recent weeks, following eight months of unrest, layoffs, and grant revocations since he took over as Health and Human Services secretary.
Anger against Kennedy peaked after the shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters earlier this month.
On August 20, more than 750 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Kennedy and Congress accusing him of contributing to harassment and violence against government employees.