The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is experiencing significant disruption following a series of restructuring measures led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The changes have resulted in leadership turmoil, staff reductions, and budget cuts at the Atlanta-based agency.
These actions have prompted concern among public health professionals who see the agency facing an unprecedented level of political interference. The situation escalated when the White House removed CDC Director Susan Monarez, leading to resignations among other senior leaders.
Amid these developments, several organizations are attempting to fill roles previously handled by the CDC. Their efforts include maintaining vaccination guidance, releasing information no longer provided by the CDC, and preserving important health data collections. However, experts note that these groups lack federal resources and legal authority.
“There may be some workarounds,” said Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. “But I’m not sure it’s fair or appropriate that people feel like they have to turn to private groups instead of the government.”
One major area affected is vaccination policy. For decades, CDC recommendations shaped vaccine standards nationwide through a process involving its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In May, Kennedy announced COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women—a decision made without ACIP input. He later dismissed the entire panel and replaced them with individuals skeptical of vaccines.
Medical organizations are responding independently. The Vaccine Integrity Project was launched at the University of Minnesota to compile and report medical evidence similar to what CDC and ACIP had done before. In August, this group held an online meeting where experts reviewed research on vaccines for children, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.
Although not issuing formal recommendations itself, the Vaccine Integrity Project collaborates with professional societies such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—which continues to recommend COVID-19 shots for pregnant women—and the American Academy of Pediatrics—which recommends them for young children.
With medical societies diverging from CDC guidance, questions remain about which recommendations insurers will follow when making coverage decisions. States are also adjusting policies; Massachusetts included language in a recent supplemental budget bill giving its health department authority to set independent vaccine guidelines if federal standards lapse.
Other initiatives seek to replace lost CDC services:
– After www.vaccines.gov stopped functioning due to contract expiration between Boston Children’s Hospital and the government in July 2025, researchers relaunched www.vaccinefinder.org as a resource for locating available vaccines.
– The Association for Dental Safety established an institute aimed at updating infection control guidelines after CDC’s Division of Oral Health was eliminated earlier this year.
“Without a doubt, ADS is the best choice to continue oversight of dental infection prevention and control guidelines, ensuring recommendations are current, scientifically sound, translated into lay terms and disseminated to those who need them on a daily basis,” said Nicole Johnson, former associate director in the CDC’s Division of Oral Health.
– With layoffs ending staffing for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System—the nation’s most comprehensive source on maternal health—some states like California may conduct their own surveys. Jamie Daw from Columbia University noted that state-by-state approaches limit national comparisons.
– Violence prevention efforts have also been affected after about 100 staffers were fired from relevant CDC programs this year. Sarah DeGue founded Violence Prevention Solutions to provide technical assistance that was once offered by federal programs.
“It’s us trying to rebuild what we had somewhere else, in a different way so that all the knowledge and experience and resources that we had can still be available,” she said.
Michael Casey contributed reporting from Boston.
