Former US vaccine chief Demetre Daskalakis says the country’s health department is being led by a ‘chaos agent’ who is putting vulnerable people in harm’s way.

Dr Daskalakis was one of three directors to resign in August, following a decision to fire the head of the Centres for Disease Control, Susan Monarez, after her months-long dispute with health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Since then, Dr Daskalakis has publicly criticised Kennedy, saying he is knowingly dismantling the country’s vaccine programme by sidelining experts and pushing his own ideology.