Dr. Rochelle Walensky Knows the CDC Made ‘ Dramatic Mistakes. ’ Now She ’ s Trying to Fix Them

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was not prepared for COVID-19. After more than two years, it still isn’t. The CDC’s response to COVID-19 has been widely criticized as slow, confusing, and mostly ineffective. Now, the agency is taking a long, hard look at itself. On Aug. 17, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky proposed sweeping changes in how the agency communicates with Americans and publishes data—two of its most critical roles as the nation’s leading public-health agency. “I don’t think moving boxes around on an organization chart will fix the problem,” she tells TIME of the changes, which she has already begun to implement. “What we’re talking about is a culture change. We’re talking about timeliness of data, communication of data, and policies guidance. Reorganization is hard, but I think this is even harder than that.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The revamp has been months in the making. In April, just over a year after taking the reins, Walensky called for an agency-wide review of the CDC. While previous directors have ordered such reviews to assess the CDC’s operations, this particular analysis was especially urgent because of the pandemic and low trust in the CDC, after the Trump Administration sidelined the agency, ignored its advice, and at times contradicted its guidance. Walensky asked for honest feedback from nearly 200 employees, academics, and other...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news