Inside the C.D.C.'s Mad Scramble to Meet Kennedy's Demands

Less than 24 hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health secretary, his press secretary directed the CDC to pull down an advertising campaign promoting flu vaccines, according to internal emails reviewed by The New York Times. The request, delivered Feb. 14, 2025 during active flu season, came through a call involving HHS, which Kennedy leads. That same day, the CDC reported 68 child deaths tied to influenza-related illness, including 11 in the week, and 16,000 deaths overall, with 29 million reported cases and 370,000 hospitalizations. CDC communications staff warned stopping ads mid-outbreak could create reputational and legal risk. The emails, spanning from January through mid-August—about a week before the White House fired acting CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez at Kennedy’s request—depict agency employees scrambling to meet shifting priorities, including vaccine-related policy and archival work on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.