Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, outlined a broad plan to overhaul the organization's structure and operations in light of what she said was its failure to respond efficiently to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to media reports.
Why it matters: The changes come after the CDC has faced fierce criticism for its handling of both COVID and the growing monkeypox outbreak.
The big picture: The series of steps to be taken include efforts to better communicate with the public, speed up data releases and produce actionable data, AP reported.
- The plans include restructuring the CDC's communications office and revamping its websites to make public health guidance clearer and easier to find.
- The CDC will also add more staff to teams that respond to public health emergencies and require these employees to remain in their positions for at least six months, solving a problem of high turnover that proved confusing and time consuming during the pandemic, per the New York Times.
- The agency will also alter its promotion system to place less emphasis on the number of published scientific papers an employee has and more on efforts to positively impact public health, the Times reported.
The CDC has long faced criticism for being too academic and producing research that undergoes lengthy review processes that are a mismatch with the urgency of a pandemic, according to the Times....
- Among the changes announced Wednesday will be an emphasis on putting out preprint scientific reports that circumvent the lengthy peer review process but get out actionable data to the public more quickly, per AP.