'Toxic': CDC staffers say morale inside the public health agency has plummeted during the pandemic

Introversion

Pie aren't squared, pie are round!
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
10,643
Reaction score
14,867
Location
Massachusetts
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/toxic-cdc-staffers-say-morale-inside-public-health-agency-has-n1244661

NBC News said:
Months of mixed messages, political pressure and public gaffes about Covid-19 have caused morale at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to turn "toxic," said four current and two former CDC staffers, with one saying the election could be a "tipping point" for a mass exodus if President Donald Trump wins.

"The house is not only on fire," said a veteran CDC staffer who did not want to be named for fear of retribution. "We're standing in ashes."

Current and former CDC employees told NBC News that career staffers are still struggling to influence key decisions on the pandemic as new daily Covid-19 cases soar nationwide, but are overruled by Trump appointees when politics intrudes.

Most recently, they said, they wanted to extend the "No Sail" order for cruise ships through February. It had been set to expire four days before the Nov. 3 election. Instead, they say Vice President Mike Pence's office pushed for the order to expire, which stands to benefit 21,000 cruise industry workers in the swing state of Florida.

The dispute between the White House and the CDC over the cruise ship order was first reported by ProPublica.

A White House official said that when the CDC proposed an extension to the "no sail" order it seemed "arbitrary" and "they provided no metrics or data as to why."

The White House official added that two or three weeks ago the vice president, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield hosted a call with the cruise lines to discuss their plan and "discussions about lifting no sail are currently in front of them, but no decision made yet.

The political pressure has taken its toll on CDC employees, said the current and former staffers. One current staffer said that during a recent Zoom call, a supervisor went so far as to instruct CDC staff to be loyal to the Constitution, not to the president.

Another current employee said: "I don't know if the damage to our reputation can be overcome with a new administration. I worry it's a permanent problem."

...

It’ll take a decade or more to recover from Trumpism. And that’s me being optimistic. Maybe we never do.
 

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
23,083
Reaction score
10,780
Location
Where faults collide
Website
doggedlywriting.blogspot.com
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/toxic-cdc-staffers-say-morale-inside-public-health-agency-has-n1244661



It’ll take a decade or more to recover from Trumpism. And that’s me being optimistic. Maybe we never do.

I think we will never be the same country we were before this happened. I know Trump is a symptom of a bigger problem that has been festering for a long time, but like the long-term havoc some symptoms can wreak on a patients' body, he also has done a great deal of damage to our country. Much of this damage cannot be erased with the stroke of a pen. Some institutions will take a long time to recover (like our courts), and even the best possible outcome in the Senate and House will not purge all the Trump lovers from the halls of Congress. The faith many of us once had in our system of checks and balances, not to mention any notions we had that the hateful right-wing fringe was only a small minority, has been shaken to its foundations. We've learned how fragile a thing democracy is. I hope people at least learn that this fragility underlines the importance of civic engagement.

I just hope the Democrats, should they gain and maintain control of both houses as well as the Presidency, develop the fortitude to address the underlying economic issues and to make deeper changes in our system than they have been willing to in the past, or the wounds will continue to fester. Democratic candidates give the wink to corporations and big money interests too, even if it's less blatant than it has been with the GOP recently. This is one reason for the deep cynicism some have about politics in general.
 
Last edited:

Marian Perera

starting over
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
14,333
Reaction score
4,578
Location
Heaven is a place on earth called Toronto.
Website
www.marianperera.com
This is one reason for the deep cynicism some have about politics in general.

I was reading a NYT article about people who'd lost jobs because of the pandemic, and one of those people said that when the election rolled around, he was so deeply pessimistic about politics that he was going to vote third party. Basically, he felt what he was going through was utterly irrelevant to politicians. Maybe he considered it a protest vote.

It was depressing to read.
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
12,977
Reaction score
4,513
Location
USA
Website
brightdreamersbookreviews.blogspot.com
The faith many of us once had in our system of checks and balances, not to mention any notions we had that the hateful right-wing fringe was only a small minority, has been shaken to its foundations. We've learned how fragile a thing democracy is. I hope people at least learn that this fragility underlines the importance of civic engagement.

Unfortunately, I fear the lesson many will choose to learn is that it's a fragile thing so why bother fixing it...

I just hope the Democrats, should they gain and maintain control of both houses as well as the Presidency, develop the fortitude to address the underlying economic issues and to make deeper changes in our system than they have been willing to in the past, or the wounds will continue to fester. Democratic candidates give the wink to corporations and big money interests too, even if it's less blatant than it has been with the GOP recently. This is one reason for the deep cynicism some have about politics in general.

I am not at all certain that they will gain power (or be allowed to - see also, how the groundwork has been laid and foundation poured for autocracy and simply ignoring elections that don't say what the TeaOP wants, with the walls being framed the moment the SCOTUS seat is filled with their hand-picked rubber stamp), or if they do, that they gain enough power for long enough to even begin to unravel the damage done here. I am also not optimistic that they will actually have the political guts to do what needs doing to actually address the root causes of this systemic disease. Don't get me wrong; I voted a straight blue ticket. But I do really wish they'd take the frelling gloves off and stop playing by yesterday's rules when the rulebook is ashes at their feet.
 

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
9,615
Reaction score
1,852
Location
East Coast
I think we will never be the same country we were before this happened. I know Trump is a symptom of a bigger problem that has been festering for a long time, but like the long-term havoc some symptoms can wreak on a patients' body, he also has done a great deal of damage to our country. Much of this damage cannot be erased with the stroke of a pen. Some institutions will take a long time to recover (like our courts), and even the best possible outcome in the Senate and House will not purge all the Trump lovers from the halls of Congress. The faith many of us once had in our system of checks and balances, not to mention any notions we had that the hateful right-wing fringe was only a small minority, has been shaken to its foundations. We've learned how fragile a thing democracy is. I hope people at least learn that this fragility underlines the importance of civic engagement.

Yup. Trump may be a symptom, but he is also the ultimate instigator for current division in this country. Fox News yesterday complained about Biden calling some heckler a chump (I think he said, "When I'm president, I'll work for everyone. Even chumps like you.") And I'm just like...really? Because Trump gets up there every single freaking day and calls Democrats all sorts of names. Democrats, immigrants, anyone who voted for Obama, military heroes, people in other countries, other world leaders...

I'm afraid it will take awhile to get past this. My own faith in the checks and balances is completely gone - we all know Barrett has guaranteed her loyalty to Trump or he never would have nominated her.