Fired Tennessee vaccine leader rebuts claims point-by-point

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Days after she was fired under pressure from Republican legislators, Tennessee’s former vaccinations director has issued a point-by-point rebuttal to a letter recommending her removal and to other claims by state officials about the program she ran that offers shots for children.

The July 9 letter from the state's chief medical officer said Michelle Fiscus should be removed due to complaints about her leadership approach and her handling of a letter explaining vaccination rights of minors for COVID-19 shots, an effort that had GOP lawmakers fuming.

Fiscus has accused Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey of terminating her “to appease a handful of outraged and uninformed legislators.”

In her rebuttal, Fiscus described Chief Medical Officer Tim Jones as a “trusted friend and colleague," who had warned her in late June that her employment was threatened. She said Jones and her supervisor, state epidemiologist John Dunn, voiced continued support for her despite the political pressure.

One complaint in the letter says Fiscus requested Health Department money for a new nonprofit she had founded, a “substantial conflict of interest.”

Fiscus counters that her job plan included creating an Immunize Tennessee coalition, which Jones praised in a document Fiscus provided, saying “Shelley has taken the initiative to start a statewide coalition which has been very successful.”

About the group, Fiscus said, “I convened stakeholders who went on to incorporate as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. I am not on the board of directors, I am not on the payroll, and I serve in only an ex-officio advisory capacity to the board. ... There is no conflict of interest as I do not benefit materially from the coalition.”

Jones' letter also accuses Fiscus of disseminating “her...