The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will tap an outside expert to conduct an exhaustive review of its operations in a bid to modernize the agency, improve its data collection and ensure it can respond more rapidly to outbreaks.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told employees on Monday that she will pick Jim Macrae, who served as acting administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to lead the review as of April 11, according to The New York Times.
The move is in response to complaints that the agency made too many missteps in responding to the pandemic. It fumbled early attempts to develop a test for the new coronavirus, failed to present up-to-date data on the pandemic and issued mask and isolation guidance that some found confusing.
“The lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the feedback I have received inside and outside the agency over the past year, indicate that it is time to take a step back and strategically position C.D.C. to support the future of public health,” Dr. Walensky said in an email to agency employees.
“Over the past year, I have heard from many of you that you would like to see CDC build on its rich history and modernize for the world around us,” she said. “I am grateful for your efforts to lean into the hard work of transforming CDC for the better.”
The Times reported that three senior CDC officials — acting principal deputy director, Dr. Deb Houry; chief operating officer, Robin Bailey; and the chief of staff, Sherri Berger — will examine the structure of the agency and make recommendations.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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