RFK Jr. claws back $11.4B in CDC funding amid wave of top-level departures

More heavy blows are landing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to reports Tuesday that reveal a wave of high-level departures from the country's beleaguered health agency. The agency is also losing $11.4 billion in funding for responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was largely doled out to chronically underfunded state health departments. This afternoon, the Associated Press reported that five high-level leaders are departing the agency, which was announced today during a senior staff meeting. The departures, which were described as retirements, follow three other high-level departures in recent weeks. Given that the CDC has two dozen centers and offices, the recent departures reflect a loss of about a third of the agency's top management. The departures announced today include: Leslie Ann Dauphin, who oversees the Public Health Infrastructure Center, "which serves as the connection point between the agency and state, local, and territorial jurisdictions ... Read full article.