Breaking: Another CDC purge underway. Multiple members of the Director’s Advisory Committee terminated without explanation.

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At least three members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee to the Director have been fired, Inside Medicine has learned. Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, announced her termination on LinkedIn, but I’ve also confirmed that there are at least two other members of the committee who have been removed, all without justification. One of the other terminated members, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, also posted the news on LinkedIn. Dr. Bagdasarian is an infectious diseases and public health expert, and is listed as a “chief medical executive” for the State of Michigan.

A third new member confirmed their termination status to me as well, but asked not to be named.

Whether all members of the committee were terminated is not yet known. So far, the three members who have been terminated were newly appointed, with terms that were supposed to start on July 1, 2025.

When that date came and went, the writing was on the wall.

“I’m obviously disappointed by this decision,” Dr. Nuzzo told Inside Medicine. “The fact that it was made before the newly appointed CDC Director [Dr. Susan Monarez] was able to take the helm will unnecessarily raise questions about the CDC’s independence. This is not what the CDC needs right now. It needs to be able to lead with transparency and accountability.”

It’s the latest purge of external experts who guide CDC policy. In June, HHS Secretary Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), replacing the august body with a smaller panel of less-qualified allies.

Unlike ACIP, the CDC’s Advisory Committee to the Director has no direct legal mandate, as it does not vote on matters that determine national policy. However, the committee serves as a transparent mechanism for the government’s receipt of outside expertise on a variety of public health priorities. The idea is that external experts should advise the CDC’s Director on various matters of national importance. But rather than proverbial smoke-filled rooms—or the modern version, which would be more like ad hoc emails and text messages—the committee is able to provide its input in a public manner. In short, we want external experts to have the ear of the CDC Director. But we also want to know who those people are, and what they are saying. That’s why the committee’s meetings are public by default.

Generally, there is some turnover in membership, staggered to ensure continuity. According to the committee charter, members serve four-year terms. The charter also requires “at least 12 members shall be knowledgeable in areas pertinent to the CDC mission, such as public health, global health, health disparities, biomedical research, and public health preparedness. Three members of the public shall also be appointed by the Secretary and include leaders in fields of innovation, public policy, public relations, law, economics, or management. All non-Federal members shall be deemed Special Government Employees.”

That means that Secretary Kennedy would indeed need to appoint members at some point. But it does not mean he needed to fire anyone.

Dr. Nuzzo was not given any reason for her termination, nor was another terminated member I spoke to. But she also never got follow-up from anyone at the CDC following her appointment letter in January, which came after a long process that she described as including multiple nomination letters, submission of her CV, followed by review by CDC officials, a conflict of interest review and, ultimately, approval by HHS.

Instead of onboarding—which includes becoming a “Special Government Employee,” a designation often used for volunteers filling official positions like this—Dr. Nuzzo was basically ghosted.

This is a developing story, so I’ll add more information as it comes in.

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If you have information about any of the unfolding stories we are following, please email me or find me on Signal at InsideMedicine.88.