Acting CDC director Bhattacharya killed a ready-to-publish Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) this week which would have shown impressive effectiveness of COVID vaccines in preventing hospitalizations over the last couple years.
The analysis had already cleared evidence and technical review by career staff at the CDC. Then it got 86’d by Kennedy/Bhattacharya.
It isn’t surprising that Bhattacharya buried it. He knows what he did was wrong but doesn’t care because he’s loyal to Kennedy rather than evidence.
I’ll be looking to see whether incoming CDC Director Erica Schwartz and her Deputy Director/CMO Jennifer Shuford publish the MMWR when they’re at their posts in a few weeks. It’ll be a good Alpha Test to forecast whether CDC’s reputation will improve or not under their leadership.
On paper, they are good picks. There’s a credible case that CDC could start turning the corner with them in charge. I’m cautiously optimistic.
But my optimism isn’t what matters. Schwartz and Shuford’s behavior is what will matter.
If Schwartz and Shuford take their posts and this MMWR stays buried or if a watered-down political document ends up being published, we’ll know that my optimism was unfounded (again).
If, on the other hand, if they publish the MMWR without watering it down it might be a sign that we can be optimistic about their future decisions.
This is a classic public health leadership test: Are you more interested in doing your job or keeping your job?
We’re about to find out which way it goes for Schwartz and Shuford.
