Ex-Tennessee vaccine leader: Firing put politics over health

Tennessee’s former top vaccinations official said she couldn’t stay silent after she was fired this week amid scrutiny from Republican state lawmakers over her department’s outreach efforts to vaccinate teenagers against COVID-19

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee's former top vaccinations official said Tuesday that she couldn't stay silent after she was fired this week amid scrutiny from Republican state lawmakers over her department’s outreach efforts to vaccinate teenagers against COVID-19. Dr. Michelle Fiscus, who was the medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs at the Tennessee Department of Health, said the state’s elected leaders put politics over the health of children by firing her for her efforts to get more Tennesseans vaccinated. She said the agency presented her with a letter of resignation and a letter of termination Monday, but no reason for why she was being let go. After choosing the termination letter, Fiscus penned a blistering 1,200-word response in which she said she is ashamed of Tennessee's leaders, afraid for her state, and “angry for the amazing people of the Tennessee Department of Health who have been mistreated by an uneducated public and leaders who have only their own interests in mind.”