Ordered not to communicate, the Centers for Disease Control isn't. Diseases, however, keep on diseasing.
The CDC's communications people are being fired or simply told not to stop distributing Health Alerts and other newsletters critical to informing the public. NPR finds that many of their websites have not been updated in over a month as measles and other infectious diseases spread.
"Public health functions best when its experts are allowed to communicate the work that they do in real time, and that's not happening," said Kevin Griffis, who served as the director of communications at the CDC until March. "That could put people's lives at risk."
Health emergencies have not paused since January. Cases of measles, salmonella, listeria and hepatitis A and C have spread throughout the country. More than 100 million Americans continue to suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes and breast cancer. The decline in the agency's communication could put people at risk, said four current and former CDC workers, three of whom NPR is allowing to remain anonymous because they are still employed by the CDC and believe they may be punished for speaking out.
"We are functionally unable to operate communications," said one of the CDC workers. "We feel like our hands are tied behind our backs."
NPR
Previously:
• CDC stops reporting COVID-19 cases on cruise ships
• CDC issues dire warning against kissing, or even snuggling, turtles
• People's CDC releases new COVID guide: 'What to Do if You Have COVID'
