Azar Urged to Support CDC and Evidenced-based COVID-19 Response

More than 345 concerned organizations, including ASCP, are working collectively to urge U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and evidence-based responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a July 1 letter, ASCP and others urged Secretary Azar to recognize “the invaluable role of the CDC and resist any efforts that would undermine its mission.” The letter also addressed chronic underfunding of CDC and public health agencies, noting that “public health spending, as a proportion of total health spending, has been decreasing since 2000 and falling in inflation-adjusted terms since the Great Recession.”