posted
Really? Why was she asked to resign?
Posts: 975 | From California | Registered: Apr 2007
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Because the ISDA was concerned that organization wasn't giving Lyme the seriousness it deserves maybe. They'd like to push harder to make sure all of us honest individuals are cared for appropriately. Am I on the right track?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Although a couple of good articles have come out of CDC re Lyme, on the whole their position has not changed in the last couple of years and the change in surveillance criteria for lyme is thought by some people to have resulted in fewer reported cases, even farther from the truth in other words. However, epidemiologists are not concerned that the actual real number of cases is usually not the result of a passive surveillance system, what they watch is trend. Unfortunately, almost no one knows this, including the politicians and the media and a lot of doctors.
But her removal probably has nothing at all to do with lyme. There was widespread dislike of her in the CDC ranks and some evidence that politics was calling the tune there instead of science in other areas.
My feeling is that politics has always been important in the handling of lyme by the govt, and preceded this particular CDC director. In fact, she pushed out two of the worst guys (anti-lyme) and they howled constantly about her incompetence. So, it seems like all the complaints about Gerberding were not credible. I think it would be hard for the general public to figure this out, whether she was more asset or more of a loss.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
Director of the CDC is a political appointment just like Surgeon General, FDA Commissioner, and the heads of all the government agencies. The default is that this position is up for replacement with each newly elected administration. The current position holder may be reappointed or someone else may be appointed.
Political in this case means appointed by the elected officials rather than employed as part of the regular civil service. (It is not meant to mean belonging to one or another political party.)
Posts: 170 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jun 2008
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
Center for De-cephalization:
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
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(CNN) -- Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will leave her post by noon on January 20, the day President-elect Barack Obama is to be sworn in to office.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has resigned effective January 20.
In an e-mail to the staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the CDC, outgoing HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt asked Gerberding and several other senior officials from his team to submit their letters of resignation.
"She did so, and it was accepted, and it is effective January 20," CDC spokeswoman Karen Hunter said.
Leavitt explained his move this way: "The next phase of Transition involves the departure of our team on January 20, and the arrival of President-elect Obama's team later that day," his e-mail said. "In order to create a clear path for leadership transition, I am attaching a list of senior leaders who will become the acting heads of their respective agencies and offices (or in some cases, remain as heads of their respective agencies and offices) until the new administration appoints individuals to various leadership positions."
In addition to the change at CDC, Assistant HHS Secretary Charlie Johnson will serve as acting secretary, Leavitt said.
CDC's Chief Operating Officer William H. Gimson III will take over as interim director at the agency until the next HHS secretary appoints a new one, the e-mail added.
Gimson and Gerberding were traveling and unavailable for comment.
-------------------- Peggy
~ ~ Hope is a powerful medicine. ~ ~ Posts: 2775 | From MN | Registered: Apr 2001
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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As LymePool says, this is pretty standard procedure for many departments or agencies with each new administration.
Someone may resign and then later be reappointed. I'd not celebrate just yet.
Dr. Julie Gerberding resigns from her directorship of the Centers for Disease Control, after being asked by the Obama team to resign.
"Last year, congressional investigators concluded the CDC failed ``in almost every respect'' to protect Hurricane Katrina's victims from dangerous formaldehyde fumes in government-provided trailers. And Gerberding was accused of playing politics by refusing to reappoint the director of the agency's worker safety division -- a man widely respected by business leaders, labor unions and lawmakers."
In November, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported: "During Gerberding's six years at the CDC, critics lambasted her for sacrificing science for politics --- for carrying the Bush agenda on global warming and other issues into the world of scientific research." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/11/23/cdc.html?cxntlid=inform_artr
Indeed, Dr. Gerberding was much criticized for delivering censored testimony to Congress: "in 2007 when she delivered testimony to Congress about the health effects of climate change that had been censored by the White House."
Her defenders counter that she expanded the mission of the agency to include bioterrorism research, combating AIDS globally and responding to national health threats.
However, two controversial issues not mentioned in the AJC articles involve a clash between children's safety and corporate profits: Dr. Gerberding lent the government seal of approval to vaccine policies that greatly enrich vaccine manufacturers while putting vulnerable children at risk:
Above is the link to the article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CDC director Gerberding resigns at Obama's request By ALISON YOUNG Friday, January 09, 2009
Posts: 1245 | From Thousand Oaks, CA | Registered: Feb 2007
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
hope we can get someone in there to help us with serious INFECTIOUS DISEASES and to get lyme guidelines changed so health insurance cos. pay their FAIR SHARE for appts., treatments, meds, etc!
doc, thanks for posting! happy trails...
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posted
After hearing her speak at a conference, I met and spoke with her personally. I will not comment on her resignation at this time.
Posts: 339 | From nowhere | Registered: May 2007
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posted
Why are they blaming her for delivering censored testimony on global warming? This censorship was applied by the White House. That is where the blame should lie instead.
But without having all the facts, it is hard to know where the truth is. She did dump that awful Ostruff, who was a real enemy of lymies. And he proceeded to badmouth her to the media.
If you look around at other federal agencies during the Bush tenure, most of them were packed with lobbyists, industry people, and others who would carry out Bush policies regardless of how much harm they might do to people, wildlife, and land. It would be hard to find an agency that did not have its mission compromised by politics. Will Obama be better? I sure hope so, as it would be hard to be worse than Bush policies and suppression of science.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
pneapple,
what type of conference did you go to where you met her? thanks
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