What’s Driving Experts Away from the CDC?
· 16 min
Episode What’s Driving Experts Away from the CDC?
Several top public health experts have resigned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing a troubling shift away from science-based decision-making. Former director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Demetre Daskalakis joins host Rachel Feltman to explain how political ideology is reshaping vaccine policy, threatening essential health programs and endangering trust in the nation’s leading health agency. He also shares what outside organizations must do to protect public health in the face of growing uncertainty.
Recommended Reading
Here’s What Happened at RFK, Jr.’s Overhauled Vaccine Panel Meeting
CDC’s Leadership Is in Chaos—Experts Warn of Public Health Risks
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Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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Links in the notes 6
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-contentious-cdc-vaccine-meeting-will-affect-public-health/
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cdc-leadership-chaos-could-disrupt-pandemic-preparedness-national/
- https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting?utm_campaign=signal4_finalists_finalistnotification_092325&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cio#/2025/shows/genre/science
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/getsciam/?utm_source=promotion&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=may24-marketing2024_subscribetext&utm_term=LP_subscribe_v1_s1_podcast
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