Topline
Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Wednesday she will make major modifications to the agency’s structure, including staffing changes and efforts to improve public messaging, after she said the agency failed to adequately respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to multiple outlets.
Rochelle Walensky speaks during a news conference.
Key Facts
In a video sent to staff Wednesday morning, Walensky admitted the agency had made “pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes” related to testing, data and communications in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bloomberg, which cited an anonymous source who viewed the video.
The agency’s infrastructure was “too frail” to tackle Covid, Walensky said, according to Bloomberg.
Among the changes, Walensky plans to name a former Obama administration health official, Mary Wakefield, to help transform the CDC to focus more on public health; to hire more staff for a team that responds to public health emergencies; to create another new team to help decide how to spend the CDC’s $12 billion annual budget; to release data and scientific findings more quickly; and to ensure the CDC’s messaging is in “plain language” that’s easy to understand, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg.
The announcement comes after Walensky in April ordered a review of the agency, which was led in part by Health Resources and Services Administration official Jim Macrae, following rampant criticism of the agency’s Covid response.
Crucial Quote
“For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for Covid-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations. I want us all to do better and it starts with CDC leading the way. My goal is a new, public health action-oriented culture at CDC that emphasizes accountability, collaboration, communication and timeliness,” Walensky said in a statement, according to multiple outlets.
Key Background
Biden named Walensky to lead the CDC at the beginning of his presidency. The agency has faced a backlash for its management of the coronavirus pandemic, including delays in developing tests early on, problems with data collection on vaccines and transmission of the virus, confusing guidance on isolation and quarantining, and allowing the Trump administration to have too much influence on its operations. Experts have also raised concerns about the CDC’s response to the current global monkeypox outbreak, which has been plagued by testing shortages and a sluggish vaccine rollout. Walensky told senior staff about her plan to revamp the agency Wednesday morning before sending out a video describing the results of the review she ordered in April, according to Bloomberg. With the help of advisers, Walensky had been evaluating the results of the review over the last few months to inform a plan to remake the agency, Bloomberg reported. The report, which Politico reported included 120 interviews with CDC staff and people outside the agency, found the CDC was too slow to release scientific findings and data used to inform policy decisions, and needed to improve communication with the public and be more nimble in its response to health outbreaks, according to multiple outlets.
Further Reading
Walensky, Citing Botched Pandemic Response, Calls for C.D.C. Reorganization (New York Times)
CDC Director Lays Out Overhaul of Agency After Pandemic Missteps (Bloomberg)
CDC director orders agency overhaul, admitting flawed Covid-19 response (Politico)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/08/17/cdc-director-walensky-announces-major-agency-changes-after-covid-missteps/