Susan Monarez, the ousted head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Congress on Thursday she was fired for refusing to back vaccine advisory board recommendations before reviewing the science behind them.

Monarez said the request came directly from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"I responded that I could not preapprove recommendations without reviewing the evidence," Monarez told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy asked Monarez whether Kennedy cited any scientific information to persuade her to change CDC recommendations.

"He did not have any data or science to point to. As a matter of fact, we got into an exchange where I had suggested I would be open to changing childhood vaccine schedules if the evid

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