CDC Senior Medical Official Expected to Quit Amid Turmoil Over Trump Vaccine Policy

Shuford’s expected departure

Shuford will leave her CDC position after next week’s midterm elections, according to a Washington Post report published Monday and based on sources. A second person cited in the report said she disagreed with the administration’s vaccine policy approach.

Vaccine guidance in question

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the mFlusiva flu vaccine, which tested well in older adults. The CDC, which advises doctors and the public on vaccine use, has not made a recommendation about it.

The lack of guidance departs from longstanding practice, the report said, and reflects broader delays in the agency’s vaccine review and recommendation process. Federal guidance on new vaccines has stopped, while public discussion of some policy questions has diminished.

Wider policy disruption

The article describes efforts by vaccine-wary officials in President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce shot recommendations as stalled. It says Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s drive to change vaccine policy, along with legal action against those efforts, has disrupted systems used to provide health guidance.