A former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official says ideology has taken over the federal health agency.

Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, resigned this week after concluding the agency under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pursuing policies that “do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”

“The firewall between science and ideology has completely broken down,” Mr. Daskalakis said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Mr. Daskalakis’ resignation followed recent policy changes regarding the CDC’s handling of the COVID vaccine.

“From my vantage point … I only see harm coming,” he said.

The stark assessment follows the abrupt departure of CDC Director Susan Monarez.

Ms. Monarez was fired after clashing with Mr. Kennedy over vaccine policy. She is out of a job weeks after being sworn in.

Mr. Daskalakis and other CDC officials resigned in protest after disagreeing with Mr. Kennedy’s overhaul of the agency’s Independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The White House defended Ms. Monarez’s firing, saying President Trump has “authority to fire those who are not aligned with his mission.”

Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, has since called for Mr. Kennedy’s resignation.

Critics say the changes to the CDC immunization schedules put the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people at risk.

“Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults,” Mr. Daskalakis said in his resignation letter.

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.