HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that for the CDC to re-establish its public trust, its focus needs to be on infectious disease as well as building infrastructure and modernizing systems.
The comments, in a Tuesday op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, come following a week of turmoil at the CDC, which saw its leader ousted.
About 50% of the CDC budget goes towards its infectious-disease mission, according to RFK Jr., who added less than 10% of CDC staff are epidemiologists.
“The Biden administration’s restructuring failed to solve the problem,” the secretary wrote. “It made a priority of health equity while ignoring the central issue: The CDC has strayed from its core mission.”
Addressing the agency’s handling of the pandemic, RFK Jr. said that because infectious and chronic diseases are linked, it made Covid-19 particularly deadly.
“Tools meant to fight disease—vaccines, antibiotics, therapeutics—can save lives but also trigger adverse events in some patients. That truth must no longer be ignored.”
In addition to improving detection of infectious diseases, the secretary also outlined other priorities: training more epidemiologists; enhancing the science behind recommendations; and providing support to state and local health departments.
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