Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a highly respected CDC official and public health advocate, has officially resigned from his role as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. His departure is effective August 28, 2025, and his resignation letter is making headlines for its unusually sharp criticism of how America’s top health agencies are being run.
In his letter, Daskalakis said he could no longer serve in an agency that is being forced to follow political agendas rather than scientific evidence. He accused the Department of Health and Human Services, under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of overriding CDC experts, ignoring data, and even spreading misinformation through social media instead of proper communication channels.
He specifically raised concerns about changes to childhood and adult immunization schedules, saying the lack of scientific support behind these decisions “threatens the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
Daskalakis also expressed outrage over what he described as “radical non-transparency” and “unskilled manipulation of data,” arguing that major public health policies are being rolled out through X posts and poorly scripted videos instead of expert analysis.
The resignation letter wasn’t just about vaccines. Daskalakis highlighted the administration’s moves to scale back protections for LGBTQ communities, cut HIV programming, and silence scientific voices inside the agency. As a longtime advocate for LGBTQ health, he called these rollbacks reckless and harmful.
He also spoke personally, saying his decision was influenced by his grandfather’s fight against fascism in Greece. He linked today’s political climate to dangerous rhetoric that creates conditions for violence, even referencing the recent shooting at CDC headquarters.
Despite his strong criticisms, Daskalakis ended his letter by thanking colleagues at CDC and expressing gratitude for his years of service. But his warning was clear: if the current course continues, America’s health security is at risk.
