“The CDC director’s role is the clearest example of the multidimensional task Biden’s Covid-19 team faces. Not only do officials need to get their arms around a pandemic that has killed more than 510,000 Americans, they have to do so while restoring trust in the institutions they now direct. The CDC made several missteps during the Trump administration on testing and on streamlining messaging around its Covid-19 guidelines…”
“The trio of officials who recently met with Walensky said they told her that the agency was at a crossroads and needed a leader who could help it reemerge as a leading force not just on Covid-19 but also on other critical public health subjects.”
“Part of the problem, officials said, is that the CDC is split between those who believe it needs to change and become more efficient, fast-moving and modernized and those want the old systems and structures to remain in place. That internal battle has created problems for the agency in the past. For example, many of the younger CDC officials say the agency needs to streamline the leadership structure and create less overhead by centralizing different divisions. The CDC is still struggling to find a happy medium.”
“Over the past year, agency staff have butted heads internally and with officials from other federal and local health agencies on the way the CDC has tracked Covid-19. In particular, the agency’s data teams have come under fire for the way they collect, analyze and publish information on testing, vaccinations and mortality. One former Trump administration official called the data collection systems ‘ rcane.’ Another said the Trump administration attempted to create an entirely separate data platform, known as HHS Protect, in an attempt to bypass the CDC because the agency was ‘too sluggish’ and that its data sets were too disparate and confusing…” Read the full article here.
Source: CDC chief tries to rebuild her agency’s reputation — and morale – By Erin Banco, March 5, 2021. POLITICO.
