I don't know.. Maybe she is stupid, ignorant, moronic, toadstoolish????

Trump pick for CDC director ousted weeks after Senate confirmation

Nadine Yousif

The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, has been ousted from her role as head of the public health agency, a source familiar with the matter told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

It comes less than a month after she was confirmed by the Senate. It is unclear why she was removed from the job.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed her departure in a post on X, thanking her "for her dedicated service to the American people."

Ms Monarez, a long time federal government scientist, was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the CDC and was confirmed in a Senate vote in July.

Her nomination came after Trump withdrew his first pick, former Republican congressman Dave Weldon, who had come under fire for his views on vaccines and autism.

In its post on X, the HHS said that US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr "has full confidence" in the CDC team, "who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad."

Shortly after Ms Monarez's departure was announced, at least three other senior CDC leaders resigned from the agency, according to emails obtained by CBS.

Daniel Jernigan, who led the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, quit the agency citing "the current context in the Department".

It is unclear whether his resignation is linked to Ms Monarez's ousting.

Also on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new Covid vaccines while limiting who could receive them.

The vaccines will be available for all seniors, but younger adults and children without underlying health conditions will be excluded.

"The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded," Kennedy wrote on X.

The BBC has contacted the CDC for comment.

Ms Monarez was the first CDC director in 50 years to not hold a medical degree. Her background is in infectious disease research.

In her month as the CDC leader, she helped comfort agency employees after the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta was attacked by a gunman who believed he had been harmed by Covid vaccines.

The attack, in which hundreds of bullets struck the building, killed one police officer.

Earlier this month, current and former employees of the agency wrote an open letter accusing Kennedy of fuelling violence towards healthcare workers with his anti-vaccine rhetoric.

Ms Monarez departure comes about a week after a union representing CDC employees announced that it had fired about 600 employees.

The wide-ranging layoffs included employees working on the government's response to infectious diseases, including bird flu, as well as those researching environmental hazards and handling public record requests.