Top CDC vaccine official resigns amid growing scrutiny of agency’s flawed science

02/19/2026 / By Belle Carter

CDC Acting Director Jim O’Neill resigns amid sweeping changes to vaccine policy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s administration removes COVID-19 vaccines from recommended schedules for healthy children and pregnant women, bypassing traditional advisory panels like ACIP.
Trump/Kennedy appointees push back against Pharma-backed policies, dismantling combination vaccines (e.g., MMR) in favor of single-dose formulations. Critics like Dr. Joseph Mercola argue CDC’s historical ties to Big Pharma compromised vaccine safety reviews, especially for COVID shots.
Resignations mount as CDC staff resist Kennedy’s reforms, including O’Neill’s departure and the appointment of new FDA advisors (Kyle Diamantas, Grace Graham). Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Abraham condemns CDC’s pandemic-era “bullying” over “experimental” COVID vaccines and suppressed injury data.
Investigations (e.g., The BMJ, 2024) expose CDC officials holding undisclosed Pfizer/Moderna stock while voting to add COVID vaccines to childhood schedules. Kennedy’s agenda prioritizes decentralizing public health power, informed consent and probing previously ignored vaccine injury claims.
With ACIP’s influence diminished and the CDC director’s seat vacant, U.S. vaccine policy faces unprecedented uncertainty. Kennedy’s team declares an end to “one-size-fits-all mandates,” but rebuilding public trust after years of regulatory capture remains a challenge.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O’Neill has abruptly resigned from his dual role as the agency’s interim leader and deputy to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The departure, confirmed by updated federal agency websites on Feb. 16, comes as Kennedy’s administration moves to overhaul vaccine policy—including stripping Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) shots from the CDC’s recommended schedule for healthy children and pregnant women.

O’Neill’s exit signals deepening turmoil within the nation’s top public health agency, which faces mounting criticism over its reliance on pharmaceutical industry-backed science and coercive vaccination policies.

Agency in flux under Kennedy’s leadership

O’Neill’s resignation follows a series of high-profile clashes over vaccine policy since Kennedy and President Donald Trump took office in 2025. Last summer, Trump fired CDC Director Susan Monarez—a non-physician appointed by the previous administration—after she resisted efforts to narrow childhood vaccine recommendations, BrightU.AI‘s Enoch cites. O’Neill, who also lacks a medical degree, was then installed as acting director and backed Trump’s push to dismantle combination vaccines (such as MMR) in favor of single-dose formulations.

But the most consequential shift came in late 2025, when Kennedy unilaterally removed COVID-19 vaccines from the CDC’s routine immunization schedule, bypassing the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Historically, ACIP—a panel of external experts—votes on vaccine recommendations before the CDC director issues final guidance. Kennedy’s decision, announced alongside Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, marked a stark reversal from the CDC’s prior stance endorsing COVID shots for all Americans over six months old.

Critics of the agency hailed the move as long overdue.

“The CDC has been captured by Pharma for decades,” said Dr. Joseph Mercola, a prominent alternative medicine advocate. “Kennedy’s actions finally acknowledge that these vaccines were never properly tested for long-term safety, especially in children.”

Growing exodus over vaccine policy

O’Neill’s departure is the latest in a string of resignations by CDC officials unwilling to defend the agency’s past decisions. His exit coincided with Kennedy’s appointment of two new senior FDA counselors—Kyle Diamantas and Grace Graham—as part of a broader effort to install reform-minded leaders across HHS.

The shakeup reflects Kennedy’s aggressive agenda to dismantle what he calls “the medical-industrial complex.” Under his direction, the CDC has adopted a more cautious stance on COVID vaccines, advising that they should only be administered after individualized risk assessments—a policy O’Neill endorsed shortly before his resignation.

Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Abraham, recently brought into the Trump administration, has been openly critical of the CDC’s pandemic-era misinformation.

“The agency bullied Americans into taking experimental shots while suppressing data on injuries,” Abraham stated at a January 2026 press conference. “That era is over.”

A legacy of regulatory capture

The CDC’s credibility crisis didn’t emerge overnight. For years, whistleblowers have accused the agency of suppressing unfavorable vaccine safety data while maintaining opaque financial ties to manufacturers. A 2024 investigation by The BMJ revealed that CDC officials held undisclosed stock in Pfizer and Moderna while voting to add their COVID vaccines to the childhood schedule—a glaring conflict of interest.

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, campaigned on dismantling this system. His administration has prioritized decentralizing public health authority, emphasizing informed consent and investigating claims of vaccine-related injuries previously dismissed by federal agencies.

Jim O’Neill’s resignation underscores the seismic shifts underway at the CDC as Kennedy’s team seeks to distance the agency from its pharmaceutical industry entanglements. With the CDC director position now vacant and ACIP’s influence waning, the future of U.S. vaccine policy hangs in the balance.

As Abraham bluntly stated: “The days of ‘one-size-fits-all’ mandates are done. Americans deserve transparency—not coercion.” Whether the CDC can rebuild public trust after years of controversy remains an open question.

Watch the video below, where former CDC Director Redfield demands the removal of the COVID-19 bioweapon from the market.

This video is from the Follower of Christ777 channel on Brighteon.com.