CDC decapitated: What comes next for public health in the United States?

CDC Decapitated: The Future of Public Health in America

Last week’s wave of resignations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed what many of us in public health have long feared: the CDC is no longer being guided by science but by political ideology. Senior leaders walked away rather than endorse vaccine policies that defy evidence, leaving the nation’s premier public health agency weakened at a moment when we need it most.

In my essay for Healthbeat, I reflect on why strong national public health agencies matter, drawing on my own experience helping to build the China CDC after SARS and Africa CDC after Ebola. These institutions exist because local systems cannot protect populations from cross-border threats on their own. Without a trusted CDC, the U.S. faces the prospect of fragmented responses, dangerous gaps in expertise, and the erosion of public trust.

The question now is whether American communities can build resilient, locally driven systems that endure beyond political cycles—and whether we can safeguard science itself from being dismantled.

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👉 CDC decapitated: What comes next for public health in the United States?