JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Today, over 1,000 current and former federal health workers signed a letter urging Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign. The letter, which was addressed to the health secretary and to Congress, accuses Kennedy of endangering the nation's health. This comes days after the Food and Drug Administration imposed new restrictions on who's eligible for the updated COVID-19 vaccines and after the Trump administration fired the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez.
One of the organizers and signatories of this letter is Dr. Elizabeth Soda. Until yesterday, she was a physician with the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. She joins us now from Atlanta. Welcome to the program.
ELIZABETH SODA: Thank you so much for having me.
SUMMERS: Dr. Soda, I know that you've been voicing your concerns about changes at the CDC for some time - for weeks now. But yesterday, you finally took the step of resigning. Tell us what led you to make that choice.
SODA: You know, it wasn't an easy one, but I joined the CDC to promote health, not only just for an individual but for a large population. And now I feel like I have to leave CDC so that I can do the same and more freely advocate for these really important public health topics.
SUMMERS: In the letter you and over 1,000 other federal health workers penned, you say, quote, "our oath requires us to speak out when the Constitution is violated and the American people are put at risk," end quote. Dr. Soda, how, in your view, is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary's, leadership putting Americans at risk? Give us an example.
SODA: Yeah, I strongly believe in the oath I took. And Secretary Kennedy is definitely putting us all at risk. I think his stance on vaccines is one very clear example of how he is politicizing the important public health action of vaccines, and it's going to have very serious consequences for all Americans at this point.
SUMMERS: We reached out to HHS, and spokesperson Andrew Nixon told NPR in a statement that Secretary Kennedy has been clear about the CDC being, quote, "broken for a long time" and went on to say that restoring trust in it will take, quote, "sustained reform and more personnel changes." He also went on to say that the health secretary is committed to evidence-based science. What do you say to that?
SODA: I would argue the secretary is definitely not committed to evidence-based science, you know, based upon many of the actions he's already taken. Looking, for example, of what he - what happened to ACIP and the people and appointees that he's putting at CDC, who have clearly been not using evidence-based science to back many of their conclusions.
SUMMERS: When you say ACIP, I assume you're referring there to the Advisory Committee on Immunization...
SODA: That's correct.
SUMMERS: ...Practices.
SODA: That is correct.
SUMMERS: I wonder, do you worry at all that the series of recent departures from CDC are actually fulfilling the vision that the Trump administration and the health secretary have for the future of the agency?
SODA: You know, that is a really good question, and I think we definitely have to think about those things as we discuss these topics. But, you know, I will also say that CDC still clearly has a lot of really dedicated and wonderful public servants who are dedicated to continue its mission. They want to be able to do their work and support the American public. So I - you know, I do believe that because of these amazing individuals, CDC will continue to try to work and protect American lives as best they can.
SUMMERS: I know that you've resigned, but I do have to ask you. We've seen a number of instances over the last few months of people who speak out against President Trump or his administration's policies facing a variety of negative consequences. Do you have any concerns about speaking out, going public yourself?
SODA: Yeah, of course. I think there's always risk, not only from retaliation from the administration but also how, you know, the general public is going to view us and potentially the risk that comes with that. But, you know, I feel very strongly. I swore an oath. Even if I have resigned, I'm going to hold by that oath for the rest of my life. And that is to speak out when I believe the Constitution and the American people are in jeopardy. And so I'm willing to take that risk in order to help promote the amazing work that we're trying to do to promote health among all Americans.
SUMMERS: We've got about a minute left. States are beginning to take public health matters into their own hands. Florida just announced it intends to end vaccine mandates. Today, the states of California, Washington and Oregon launched the West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate their own health guidance and vaccine recommendations rather than to rely on the CDC. In your view, should the country be making contingency plans to operate without the CDC, as we see these states doing?
SODA: I think, unfortunately, we're there, right? We're seeing states roll back these mandates. They're going to have consequences. The school mandates have helped. And I think that if CDC is not going to be able to provide that reliable voice, we are going to have to rely on our state and local health departments to step in and fill those gaps.
SUMMERS: Last thing I'd like to ask - if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. does not resign as health secretary, as you and your colleagues - your former colleagues - ask, what would you hope comes next for the CDC?
SODA: I do hope Congress takes action. You know, that's our big plea. Please, Congress, you know, take action and put someone in that role who is going to be able to follow evidence-based scientific data to make good...
SUMMERS: OK.
SODA: ...Decisions for the American public.
SUMMERS: We'll have to leave it there. Dr. Elizabeth Soda was until yesterday a physician at the CDC, one of more than 1,000 federal health workers calling for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to resign. Thank you.
SODA: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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