Trump-appointed CDC medical chief Jennifer Shuford to resign after six months - The News International

The deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr Jennifer Shuford, is resigning just six months after being appointed by US President Donald Trump.

According to The Guardian, an internal agency email confirmed that Shuford, who also serves as chief medical officer, will leave her position on 12 November, shortly after the US midterm elections.

“I am leaving to spend more time with my family,” Shuford said in a statement shared by CDC director Dr Erica Schwartz.

“I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC. It has been an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful for it.”

Shuford joined the CDC in April as part of a four-person leadership team appointed to stabilise the agency following the departure of former director Susan Monarez.

Monarez had left her position after less than a month, publicly criticising Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's directives as “unscientific”.

Shuford's departure comes amid significant changes to the CDC's vaccine policies under Kennedy's leadership.

The health secretary has faced criticism for replacing the agency's 17-member vaccine advisory panel and overseeing changes to public health messaging.

The CDC has also lost approximately one-third of its workforce, while the United States has recorded 48 measles outbreaks.