The CDC’s top leaders have a new focus: hiring more staff, including senior roles, Bloomberg News reported June 29.
Sean Slovenski, the CDC’s principal deputy director and chief operating officer, told the agency that he is working to improve operating strategy over the next four to six months, including tackling low morale and how many temporary leaders are occupying top roles, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg.
Mr. Slovenski said there won’t be another workforce reduction, and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, interim director of the National Institute of Health, also vowed to bring in more staff. Both leaders recognized that the remaining staff have been working multiple roles at once.
At least 11 CDC centers and offices have an acting director, and the agency has been without a permanent director for nearly a year. Over the last 18 months, about a quarter of the CDC’s staff has left or been cut in mass layoffs. CDC’s director nominee, Erica Schwartz, MD, is expected to sit for a confirmation hearing in the Senate in the coming months.
