The Trump administration has reignited global concerns about eugenics through its direct interference in science and public health. The latest controversy centers on the firing of the CDC director, followed by the resignation of four senior colleagues in protest. Their departures, citing the politicization of the agency and the deliberate manipulation of scientific data, mark a troubling erosion of trust in one of the world’s most critical health institutions.
Compounding the crisis, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has advanced policies that eliminate COVID-19 vaccinations for nearly the entire population, leaving access only for a select few. This decision is widely interpreted by public health experts as an assault on the most vulnerable groups—the elderly, the immunocompromised, and those with chronic illnesses. By stripping away essential protections, these moves are viewed as a calculated attempt at social Darwinism, where the weakest are effectively abandoned to disease.
Such actions reflect a disturbing convergence of politics and ideology with echoes of eugenics. Public health policy is being weaponized not to protect life, but to selectively determine whose lives are valued. The consequences are dire—not only for those directly at risk of COVID-19, but for the precedent it sets in allowing governments to ration care and manipulate science for ideological ends.
We don’t actually know who can get vaccinated right now—it’s not clear who is eligible, and it’s not even clear if insurance will consistently cover the cost. That uncertainty isn’t accidental. The committee responsible for approving the shot has been stacked with liars and frauds and isn’t even scheduled to meet until later in September. Under normal circumstances, the booster would have been approved months ago by a legitimate board.
This eugenics push is designed to create confusion, cast doubt on science, and restrict access to life-saving care. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s ultimate aim is to control reproduction and increase the occurrence of traits he and his allies deem “desirable,” with their main thrust being to weed out the “weak” before they breed. Stephen Miller has even defended HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. after the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, calling Kennedy “one of the world’s foremost voices, advocates, and experts on public health,” and praising him as “a crown jewel of this administration” working to “restore the credibility and integrity of the CDC as a scientific organization.”
But the danger extends to the entire population—we already saw the deadly consequences during Trump’s first administration, when millions died needlessly.
This moment demands vigilance. Scientists, health professionals, and the public must recognize the stakes: the erosion of evidence-based policy, the marginalization of vulnerable populations, and the dangerous normalization of eugenic thinking in modern governance.