MANCHESTER, N.H. —

America's public health is headed to "a very dangerous place," according to the recently fired director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was questioned Wednesday by senators, including U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire.

Republicans unanimously approved Susan Monarez for the job of CDC director, but she hadn't been in the position for a month before Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired her at the end of August.

Monarez said Kennedy fired her because she wouldn't sign off on new vaccine recommendations and she wouldn't fire high-ranking CDC officials without cause.

She said there were numerous problems inside the country's health agencies, including Kennedy and his advisers rejecting vaccine data.

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