CDC leadership disruptions endanger American health

Public health, explained: Sign up to receive Dr. Jay K. Varma’s reports in your inbox a day early.Hello and welcome to Healthbeat’s weekly report on stories shaping public health in the United States.I am Dr. Jay K. Varma, a physician, epidemiologist, and public health expert currently serving as chief medical officer at Fedcap, a national nonprofit focused on economic mobility and well-being for vulnerable communities. Views expressed here are my own.This week, I’m focused on what happens when we have no one leading public health in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been effectively leaderless since President Donald Trump took office again, with vaccine policy mired in legal confusion and states fighting to keep funds they were promised. Leaderless at CDC, and no easy fix in sightThe CDC still has no permanent director, and news outlets are reporting that the administration is struggling to find a suitable candidate. The Trump administration’s only