Arr, aye! Know ye, me hearties, a shiny new tale be tellin' us how the CDC can brace for the next scourge!
2023-08-15
Arrr, me hearties! Ye scallywags be warned, fer The Centers fer Disease Control and Prevention hath a fresh captain at its helm! Aye, a new director be settlin' in. So batten down the hatches, mateys, fer change be upon us!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a new director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, following acknowledgment from her predecessor, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, that the agency made significant mistakes during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is no indication that Dr. Cohen has identified the root cause or implemented a solution for the CDC's issues. A recent study conducted by the Paragon Health Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute revealed that the CDC's failures during the pandemic can be attributed to mission creep and the lack of congressional authorization for the agency. The CDC has expanded into areas unrelated to its core mission of preventing and controlling communicable diseases, leaving it ill-prepared and distracted during the pandemic. Unlike other major agencies, the CDC has never been authorized by Congress, and its goals, powers, and structure are undefined. As a result, the agency has grown haphazardly and now focuses on various priorities that are unrelated to communicable diseases. The CDC's disconnected programs and duplicate initiatives in other agencies are unnecessary, costly, and divert resources from its primary purpose. Former CDC director Robert Redfield and former Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir both testified that the agency's lack of focus on infectious disease outbreaks contributed to its poor pandemic performance. To ensure the CDC is prepared for future pandemics and regain public trust, Congress should comprehensively authorize the agency for the first time, reaffirm its core mission, and transfer off-mission priorities to other agencies. Dr. Cohen is correct that the CDC has lost the trust of the American public, and refocusing the agency on combating communicable diseases is the only way to restore that trust and protect the country from future pandemics.