CDC Director: ‘We Fell Short’, By Jondi Gumz

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CDC Director: ‘We Fell Short’

By Jondi Gumz

For 75 years, CDC and public health

have been preparing for Covid-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations ... we fell short in many ways… We had some pretty public mistakes, and so much of this effort was to hold up the mirror ... to understand where and how we could do better.”

That’s Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director since January 2021 of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sharing plans last week for change at the agency, which has a $12 billion budget, 11,000+ employees, and a mission to protect Americans from disease outbreaks.

In April, she tapped a top federal official to review the CDC and make recommendations. James Macrae of the Health Resources & Services Administration reported findings in mid-June, focusing on “how CDC can better translate science and data into actionable policy and communications during a public health emergency.”

Walensky did not elaborate on the mistakes, but the changes include: • Increasing use of preprint scientific reports rather than waiting for research to be peer-reviewed and published by the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality

Weekly Report. • Keeping leaders devoted to outbreak response on for at least six months — to address turnover. • Creating a new executive council to help Walensky set strategy and priorities. • Establishing an office to smooth partnerships with other agencies. • Appointing Mary Wakefield, 68, the

No. 2 administrator at Health and

Human Services under President

Obama, to implement changes.

On July 29, attorneys settled the nation’s first class action lawsuit for healthcare workers over a Covid-19 vaccination mandate, for $10.3 million.

NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago agreed to compensate 500 current and former healthcare workers denied religious exemptions and claimed discrimination; each person is to receive $260,000. They were represented by Liberty Counsel of Orlando. The settlement must be approved by federal District Court.

On Aug. 19, Dr. Robert Malone, who helped develop the mRNA technology used in Covid-19 vaccines, filed a lawsuit alleging defamation and seeking $50.35 million in compensatory and punitive damages from The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos.

Malone, an outspoken critic of Covid-19 vaccines, cited a Jan. 24 article by The Washington Post headlined, “A vaccine scientist’s discredited claims have bolstered a movement of misinformation.”

The article, published the day after the “Defeat the Mandates” rally in Washington, D.C., draws on Malone’s speech at the event.

Malone is asking for a jury trial.

On Aug. 22, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he will step down in December as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which awards millions in grants to researchers, chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation and White House medical advisor.

At 81, he has worked 54 years in government service. He is working on a memoir.

All this is happening as the Covid positivity rate, ICU cases and hospitalizations are declining in California and locally.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District, where 19,000 students began classes Aug. 15, reports zero student cases and 35 staff cases. Masks and vaccination are recommended, not required.

Since July 26, wastewater data in Santa Cruz County shows Covid-19 Omicron levels plunging.

The number of active cases in Santa Cruz County dropped from 2,197 to 1,303 in the last six weeks, and no local deaths have been reported in the past five weeks. The last six deaths were people who were vaccinated, according to the county dashboard, all 65 or older with medical conditions.

The county updates the numbers on Mondays and Thursdays.

On Wednesday, the state reported 13 people hospitalized positive for Covid in Santa Cruz County, and none are in intensive care.

With 61,000+ county cases, natural immunity may be a factor.

Santa Cruz County is rated medium for transmission by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its COVID tracking map. Monterey County is rated high, but a third of California is rated low, along with counties elsewhere.

California reports 80% of the population have had at least one shot.

On the CDC Covid tracker, Santa Cruz County reports 91.8% of residents age 5 and up have at least one shot and 83.6% fully vaccinated.

Fully vaccinated means having two shots (Pfizer or Moderna) or one Johnson & Johnson shot. All were developed for the initial Wuhan Covid-19 strain, which is no longer circulating.

On Aug. 22, Pfizer applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requesting emergency use authorization of a booster dose targeting the Omicron subvariant BA.4/BA.5 – currently the most pervasive -- for those 12 years of age and older. That change was requested by the FDA.

The Biden administration has a $3.2 billion deal to buy 105 million doses of that vaccine for fall.

In August, the CDC relaxed Covid-19 guidance noting an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have some immunity, either from vaccination or infection.

The “test-to-stay” in school protocol was eliminated for students exposed to the coronavirus but not fully vaccinated. Exposures now require masking, not quarantine.

Last year, the State of California said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must give full approval of vaccines before rulemaking to require the Covid-19 vaccine. That has not happened; vaccines have been made available with the FDA granting emergency use authorization.

“COVID Update” page 10

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