Former top vaccine official sues Trump administration over her firing

13 hours ago 5

A erstwhile apical authoritative astatine the National Institutes of Health sued the Trump medication Tuesday, alleging she was illegally fired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aft she blew the whistle connected interior clashes implicit vaccine probe astatine the agency.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo ran the NIH part liable for vaccine probe until precocious March, erstwhile she was placed connected indefinite leave. In a ceremonial whistleblower complaint, she said she was sidelined due to the fact that she pushed backmost against NIH officials appointed by President Trump who questioned the value of puerility flu vaccines and canceled long-running objective trials.

She was terminated successful October aft she went nationalist with her concerns successful an exclusive interrogation with CBS News, which she claims was a further enactment of retaliation.

"I spoke up due to the fact that the decisions by HHS enactment person enactment the public's wellness astatine hazard and wasted billions of dollars — actions that volition person devastating consequences for Americans' information and wellbeing for decades to come," Marrazzo said successful a connection connected Tuesday, noting that she is seeking her occupation backmost and besides aims to support the rights afforded to national employees who stroke the whistle.

"I was fired for calling this out, but I volition not enactment silent," she said.

An Health and Human Services spokesperson declined to remark connected Marrazzo's lawsuit. Under Kennedy, vaccine skeptics person been appointed to enactment roles crossed the wellness agencies, raising alarms among vocation scientists.

Marrazzo's allegations absorption connected Dr. Matthew Memoli, who served arsenic acting NIH manager earlier this twelvemonth earlier moving to the wellness agency's No. 2 post.

Marrazzo claimed Memoli made statements downplaying the value of vaccines that intimately mirrored the views of Kennedy, who has a agelong past of sowing doubts astir vaccines. In a bid of meetings, Memoli argued that "vaccines are unnecessary if populations are healthy," and that the NIH "should not absorption connected vaccines," Marrazzo alleged successful her lawsuit.

Marrazzo told CBS News it was similar "hearing the echo of" the vaccine skepticism often promoted by Kennedy. "It was highly alarming," Marrazzo said.

An HHS spokesperson defended Memoli to CBS News, penning successful a statement: "He remains afloat aligned with this administration's vaccine priorities and consistently champions gold-standard evidence-based science."

In 2023, Marrazzo succeeded Dr. Anthony Fauci arsenic the manager of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. In September, she followed a well-established whistleblower process for national workers by filing a ailment with the Office of Special Counsel.

However, successful her lawsuit, she said she was present turning to the courts due to the fact that "actions by the Trump medication person afloat eroded the independence" of national agencies that regularisation connected whistleblower allegations and her assertion "cannot beryllium reasonably investigated oregon adjudicated successful these forums."