Overview

• The six — Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello and David Satcher — said Kennedy’s policies pose a “profound, immediate and unprecedented” threat.
• They cited vaccine actions including dismissing all 17 CDC immunization advisers and narrowing COVID-19 shot eligibility, along with disputed claims about mRNA, HPV and autism.
• The authors linked these moves to plummeting morale, an exodus of experts and real‑world harms such as a prolonged measles outbreak, and urged leadership that restores trust.
• HHS responded that the critics “presided over the decline in public health” and said Kennedy’s MAHA agenda seeks to restore trust and choice, while the president has continued to back him.
• Pressure has widened as psychiatry groups call for Kennedy’s removal and a former CDC deputy says she was fired after refusing to dismiss vaccine experts without cause.