US fires health official who opposed widely used Covid-19 shots
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Dr Hatfill claimed that mRNA vaccines create “biochemical havoc” in the body and that Covid-19 vaccines weren’t properly studied by drug companies.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – A top biosecurity adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services who believed messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccines should be taken off the market was fired over the weekend, an agency official said.
Dr Steven Hatfill, a virologist who advocated for unproven Covid-19 treatments like hydroxychloroquine during the Covid-19 pandemic, served for six months as a senior adviser at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The agency is responsible for preparing the US against potential threats from bioweapons and new infectious diseases, as well as stocking the country’s emergency medical Cabinet.
HHS said Dr Hatfill incorrectly claimed to be the chief medical officer at ASPR, and wasn’t effective in cooperating between government agencies and with department leadership.
In a written statement, Dr Hatfill disputed the HHS official’s characterisation.
He said he was given the title of chief medical officer of ASPR by his direct supervisor.
Additionally, Dr Hatfill said he acted in compliance with the agency’s policies, had never been disciplined and had even garnered praise from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I acted in 100 per cent compliance with HHS policy,” Dr Hatfill said in a written statement.
Dr Hatfill also said he hasn’t yet been formally terminated, though was asked by one of Mr Kennedy’s aides to resign on Oct 26 because they were taking ASPR in a different direction.
Dr Hatfill refused and asked to speak to Mr Kennedy but was later locked out of HHS communication systems and denied access to his office, he said.
Further, Dr Hatfill said he stands by his endorsement of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for the early treatment of Covid-19, though that wasn’t a reason HHS gave for his termination.
ASPR remains without a Senate-confirmed leader.
Mr Kennedy has outlined plans to break apart the division in a reorganisation. Dozens of staffers, including some working on biodefence, have been laid off during the US government shutdown.
In a move that drew criticism from public health experts, HHS cancelled all messenger RNA research related to vaccine development at a division of ASPR earlier in 2025. Dr Hatfill defended the decision publicly.
On political strategist Steve Bannon’s show in August, Dr Hatfill’s title was listed as chief medical officer at ASPR. A public directory of HHS employees lists Dr Hatfill as a senior adviser at the agency.
On Mr Bannon’s show, Dr Hatfill claimed that mRNA vaccines create “biochemical havoc” in the body and that Covid-19 vaccines weren’t properly studied by drug companies.
He called spike proteins produced in response to mRNA Covid-19 vaccines “a biologically toxic molecule” that could cause neurodegenerative damage and hurt foetal brain development in a paper published this spring.
Anti-vaccine activists have claimed that mRNA vaccinations result in long-term circulation of spike proteins in the blood, leading to negative health effects.
They claim spike proteins accelerate cancer and that long Covid-19 is a form of vaccine injury.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that spike proteins generated by Covid-19 vaccines usually last up to a few weeks.
While the spike proteins generated during Covid-19 infections may contribute to persisting symptoms known as long Covid, studies haven’t shown that long Covid is a form of vaccine injury. BLOOMBERG
