CDC Needs To Reclaim Its Reputation As Nation’s Public Health Agency And Be Apolitical: Medical News Editors

The editors of an online medical news organization called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to “reclaim their independence” and their credibility as the nation’s leading public health agency by leaving the White House COVID Response Team in Washington. “CDC and its director, Rochelle Walensky, MD, need to reclaim their independence and return to Atlanta,” the editors of Medpage Today said in an opinion article published on Wednesday, adding that “the agency’s presence in Washington has hindered, not helped, its reputation.” The editors allege that the White House COVID Response Team’s “uneasy marriage of politics and public health” has caused the CDC to lose its scientific credibility and “fueled distrust of public health guidelines.” “Leaving the White House COVID Response Team would disentangle the CDC from this politically charged arrangement, and empower it to manage this public health crisis as they’ve managed every prior public health crisis, …  » Read full article