FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, September 12, 2025

Why Reforming the CDC Is Essential

by Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D.

The uproar over HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reform of the CDC-including the dismissal of its director and overhaul of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices-reveals just how deeply entrenched the agency has become. More than a thousand health officials have demanded his resignation. Yet few are asking the more important question: why was reform necessary in the first place?

A Crisis of Trust

The CDC's mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic eroded public confidence to historic lows. Contradictory guidance on masks, lockdowns, and vaccines confused the public and undermined trust. The perception-often accurate-of conflicts of interest with pharmaceutical corporations has only made matters worse.

Public health cannot function without trust. Restoring credibility requires more than cosmetic changes. It requires reform.

A Narrow, Pharma-Centered Agenda

For decades, the CDC's policies, driven largely by ACIP, have reflected a pharmaceutical-first, one-size-fits-all model. Nutritional and metabolic approaches to prevention-supported by decades of evidence-have been ignored. The proven roles of Vitamin C, Vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients in immunity are absent from CDC guidelines.

The agency has likewise failed to address obesity, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction, which are major drivers of vulnerability to infection and chronic disease. Its silence on toxins, endocrine disruptors, and environmental stressors is deafening.

Reform means broadening the scope of science-not narrowing it.

Independence and Accountability

Critics claim Kennedy is undermining science. On the contrary, he is challenging the unhealthy fusion of corporate influence and government policy. For too long, the CDC has operated as if public health and industry profits were the same thing. They are not.

By replacing leadership and advisory bodies, Kennedy has created an opening for independent science, transparency, and accountability. The resistance he faces is less about protecting science and more about protecting power.

A Chance to Rebuild Public Health

This is a rare opportunity to reset priorities. The CDC can, and should, evolve into an institution that promotes:

• Nutritional immunology: supporting immune defense through essential nutrients.
• Metabolic health: confronting diet-driven epidemics with real preventive strategies.
• Environmental health: recognizing the role of toxins and pollutants in chronic disease.

Orthomolecular medicine has long championed "the right molecules in the right amounts" as the foundation of prevention and healing. Reforming the CDC gives this principle its first real chance to influence national policy.

Editorial Conclusion

As Editor-in-Chief of OMNS, I affirm that these reforms are not reckless-they are overdue. They mark a courageous step toward reclaiming science from political and corporate capture.

The CDC must once again serve the public, not industry. For the first time in decades, there is reason to hope it may do so.

Editor's Note - OMNS receives many thoughtful reader questions, but our current platform doesn't support public Q&A. To foster more dialogue, I'll share selected letters and replies on my Substack (👉 https://substack.com/@rzchengmd). OMNS will continue publishing articles from our editors and authors; this Substack Q&A is simply a complementary channel. I hope OMNS will add interactive features in the future so all editors can join the conversation. - Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief

About the Author

Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. - Editor-in-Chief, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service

Dr. Cheng is a U.S.-based, NIH-trained, board-certified physician specializing in integrative cancer therapy, orthomolecular medicine, functional & anti-aging medicine. He maintains active practices in both the United States and China.

A Fellow of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and a Hall of Fame inductee of the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine, Dr. Cheng is a leading advocate for nutrition-based, root-cause health strategies. He also serves as an expert reviewer for the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, and co-founded both the China Low Carb Medicine Alliance and the Society of International Metabolic Oncology.

Dr. Cheng offers online Integrative Orthomolecular Medicine consultation services.
📰 Follow his latest insights on Substack: https://substack.com/@rzchengmd

Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

Find a Doctor

To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Jennifer L. Aliano, M.S., L.Ac., C.C.N. (USA)
Albert G. B. Amoa, MB.Ch.B, Ph.D. (Ghana)
Seth Ayettey, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D. (Ghana)
Ilyès Baghli, M.D. (Algeria)
Greg Beattie, Author (Australia)
Barry Breger, M.D. (Canada)
Ian Brighthope, MBBS, FACNEM (Australia)
Gilbert Henri Crussol, D.M.D. (Spain)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Ian Dettman, Ph.D. (Australia)
Susan R. Downs, M.D., M.P.H. (USA)
Ron Ehrlich, B.D.S. (Australia)
Hugo Galindo, M.D. (Colombia)
Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D. (USA)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Claus Hancke, MD, FACAM (Denmark)
Patrick Holford, BSc (United Kingdom)
Ron Hunninghake, M.D. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Dwight Kalita, Ph.D. (USA)
Felix I. D. Konotey-Ahulu, M.D., FRCP (Ghana)
Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)
Fabrice Leu, N.D., (Switzerland)
Alan Lien, Ph.D. (Taiwan)
Homer Lim, M.D. (Philippines)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Pedro Gonzalez Lombana, M.D., Ph.D. (Colombia)
Diana MacKay (Gifford-Jones), M.P.P. (Canada)
Victor A. Marcial-Vega, M.D. (Puerto Rico)
Juan Manuel Martinez, M.D. (Colombia)
Mignonne Mary, M.D. (USA)
Dr.Aarti Midha M.D., ABAARM (India)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Sarah Myhill, MB, BS (United Kingdom)
Tahar Naili, M.D. (Algeria)
Zhiwei Ning, M.D., Ph.D. (China)
Zhiyong Peng, M.D. (China)
Pawel Pludowski, M.D. (Poland)
Isabella Akyinbah Quakyi, Ph.D. (Ghana)
Selvam Rengasamy, MBBS, FRCOG (Malaysia)
Jeffrey A. Ruterbusch, D.O. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Thomas N. Seyfried, Ph.D. (USA)
Han Ping Shi, M.D., Ph.D. (China)
T.E. Gabriel Stewart, M.B.B.CH. (Ireland)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)
Dr. Sunil Wimalawansa, M.D., Ph.D. (Sri Lanka)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Founding & Former Editor
Richard Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. (USA), Editor-In-Chief
Associate Editor: Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Editor, Japanese Edition: Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
Editor, Chinese Edition: Richard Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. (USA)
Editor, Norwegian Edition: Dag Viljen Poleszynski, Ph.D. (Norway)
Editor, Arabic Edition: Moustafa Kamel, R.Ph, P.G.C.M (Egypt)
Editor, Korean Edition: Hyoungjoo Shin, M.D. (South Korea)
Editor, Spanish Edition: Sonia Rita Rial, PhD (Argentina)
Editor, German Edition: Bernhard Welker, M.D. (Germany)
Associate Editor, Arabic Edition: Ayman Kamel, DVM, MBA (Egypt)
Associate Editor, German Edition: Gerhard Dachtler, M.Eng. (Germany)
Assistant Editor: Michael Passwater (USA)
Contributing Editor: Thomas E. Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Contributing Editor: Damien Downing, M.B.B.S., M.R.S.B. (United Kingdom)
Contributing Editor: W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Contributing Editor: Michael J. Gonzalez, N.M.D., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
Technology Editor: Michael S. Stewart, B.Sc.C.S. (USA)
Associate Technology Editor: Robert C. Kennedy, M.S. (USA)
Legal Consultant: Jason M. Saul, JD (USA)

Comments and media contact: editor@orthomolecular.org OMNS welcomes but is unable to respond to individual reader emails. Reader comments become the property of OMNS and may or may not be used for publication.

To Subscribe at no charge: http://www.orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html

To Unsubscribe from this list: http://www.orthomolecular.org/unsubscribe.html