Yes, the CDC must be reorganized asap; but no, it cannot reorganize itself

Last update: Thursday 8/18/22 

Regular readers of this blog will recall that its editor has cried out that the "CDC must be reorganized asap" again and again for almost two years. (A partial list of his "I told you so's" appears at the bottom of this page.)  His prior notes have also affirmed that the CDC's culture is the biggest cause of its failures, a culture that mandates that its guidance be derived from well established science. For pandemics whose variants evolve much faster than the normal speed of science, the CDC needs a culture that commits it to making timely, rational judgements that are informed by, but are not limited to lagging science. Unfortunately, the primary carriers of the culture of any organization are its leaders. Expecting the leaders of the CDC to reorganize themselves in a timely manner is about as absurd as expecting the nation's top figure skaters to reorganize themselves into a world-class hockey team before the next winter Olympics.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC's current director, should be thanked for her service, especially for her recent candid admission that the CDC has failed to provide the nation with the guidance needed to manage the pandemic effectively.

• "CDC, under fire, lays out plan to become more nimble and accountable", Lena H. Sun and Dan Diamond, Washington Post, 8/17/22 
• "Walensky, Citing Botched Pandemic Response, Calls for C.D.C. Reorganization", Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland, NY Times, 8/17/22
• "In an effort to address its missteps during Covid, CDC plans an ‘ambitious’ agency overhaul", Helen Branswell, STAT, 8/18/22

Dr. Walensky's "resignation" should be accepted, reluctantly and ceremoniously. Then she should be immediately replaced by a take-no-prisoners turn-around artist with extensive prior experience in rebooting large, white collar operations.  Within a few weeks heads should begin to roll at the CDC's Atlanta headquarters. 

Finding an effective successor will not be easy. President Biden will probably err at first by considering candidates with impressive medical credentials, like Dr. Walensky's and her predecessors. However, during his search and replace efforts, President Biden should bear in mind that President Lincoln won the Civil War by replacing one top military leader after another until he finally found Ulysses S. Grant, nobody's prior notion of a "modern major general", but possessed of the skills required to drive his brilliant opponent Robert E. Lee into early retirement.

____________________________________

Links to related notes on this blog:  

• "An open letter to President Biden regarding the critical need to reorganize the CDC immediately", Last update: 6/17/21
  
  
• "The CDC needs to be reorganized from top to bottom ... Part 1 (Trump's Disdain)", Last update: 1/21/22
  
  
• "The CDC needs to be reorganized from top to bottom ... Part 2 (Biden's Turnaround Artist)", Last update: 1/11/22
  
  
• "Why is the CDC incapable of producing timely guidance?", Last update: 2/5/22
  
  
• "Maybe it's time to #DefundTheCDC", Last update: 2/16/22
  
  
• "Why does the CDC hoard the data that supports its guidance?", Last update: 2/23/22
  
  
• "Strategic implications of some basic facts about the CDC", Last update: 3/19/22
  
  
• "COVID proved the CDC is broken. Can it be fixed?", Last update: 3/30/22
  
  
• The CDC intends to reorganize itself", Last update: 4/5/22
  
  
• "Moving another CDC "component" to the Census Bureau", Last update: 4/29/22