Since it was established almost 80 years ago, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been considered the gold standard for public health. For generations, the world has looked to the agency for guidance during dangerous disease outbreaks, with its website frequently bookmarked by physicians across the country looking for science-backed recommendations.
But in the months since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, the agency has been thrown into disarray. HHS laid off thousands of CDC employees in April, including people studying chronic disease—Kennedy’s central issue—before bringing back some workers as a result of various lawsuits.
Dr. Richard E. Besser, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, offers his view on the potential dangers that come with the overhaul at the CDC. Dr. Besser speaks with Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec and Bloomberg News Health Reporter Jessica Nix on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.
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