Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

{{See also|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention timeline}}

The Communicable Disease Center was founded July 1, 1946, as the successor to the World War II Malaria Control in War Areas program{{cite journal|author=Parascandola J|title=From MCWA to CDC{{snd}}origins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|journal=Public Health Reports|date=November–December 1996|pmid=8955706|volume=111|issue=6|pages =549–551|pmc=1381908}} of the Office of National Defense Malaria Control Activities.{{cite web|title=Records of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Record Group 442) 1921–2004 |work=Guide to Federal Records |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |location=United States |date=November 9, 2010 |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/442.html |access-date=October 4, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101119230544/http://archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/442.html |archive-date=November 19, 2010 }}

Preceding its founding, organizations with global influence in malaria control were the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation.{{cite journal|author=Nájera JA|title=Malaria control: achievements, problems and strategies|journal=Parassitologia|volume=43|issue=1–2|pages=1–89|date=June 2001|pmid=11921521}} The Rockefeller Foundation greatly supported malaria control, sought to have the governments take over some of its efforts, and collaborated with the agency.{{cite journal|author=Stapleton DH|title=Lessons of history? Anti-malaria strategies of the International Health Board and the Rockefeller Foundation from the 1920s to the era of DDT|journal=Public Health Rep|volume=119|issue=2|pages=206–215|year=2004|pmid=15192908|pmc=1497608|doi=10.1177/003335490411900214}}

The new agency was a branch of the U.S. Public Health Service and Atlanta was chosen as the location because malaria was endemic in the Southern United States.{{Cite journal|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/repo_A87OY4Vt|title=War, Tropical Disease, and the Emergence of National Public Health Capacity in the United States|last=Sledge|first=Daniel|date=2012|journal=Studies in American Political Development|volume=26|issue=2|pages=125–162|doi=10.1017/S0898588X12000107|hdl=10106/24372|s2cid=145297402|hdl-access=free}} The agency changed names (see infobox on top) before adopting the name Communicable Disease Center in 1946. Offices were located on the sixth floor of the Volunteer Building on Peachtree Street.{{Cite web|last=CDC|date=March 22, 2017|title=Celebrating 7 Decades of Firsts|url=https://www.cdc.gov/museum/history/celebrating-7decades.html|access-date=June 14, 2020|website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|language=en-us}}

With a budget at the time of about $1{{nbsp}}million, 59 percent of its personnel were engaged in mosquito abatement and habitat control with the objective of control and eradication of malaria in the United States{{cite web|author=Division of Parasitic Diseases|title=Malaria Control in War Areas (1942–1945)|work=The History of Malaria, an Ancient Disease (2004)|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=February 8, 2010|url=https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/history/index.htm#mcwa|access-date=March 21, 2011}} (see National Malaria Eradication Program).

Among its 369 employees, the main jobs at CDC were originally entomology and engineering. In CDC's initial years, more than six and a half million homes were sprayed, mostly with DDT. In 1946, there were only seven medical officers on duty and an early organization chart was drawn. Under Joseph Walter Mountin, the CDC continued to be an advocate for public health issues and pushed to extend its responsibilities to many other communicable diseases.{{cite journal|pmc=2030772|pmid=14930166|volume=67|issue=5|title=Dr. Joseph W. Mountin, pioneer in public health, 1891–1952|year=1952|journal=Public Health Rep|page=425|last1=Scheele|first1=L. A}}

In 1947, the CDC made a token payment of $10 to Emory University for {{convert|15|acre|m2}} of land on Clifton Road in DeKalb County, still the home of CDC headquarters as of 2025. CDC employees collected the money to make the purchase. The benefactor behind the "gift" was Robert W. Woodruff, chairman of the board of the Coca-Cola Company. Woodruff had a long-time interest in malaria control, which had been a problem in areas where he went hunting. The same year, the PHS transferred its San Francisco based plague laboratory into the CDC as the Epidemiology Division, and a new Veterinary Diseases Division was established.

File:CDC Cifton Road campus 1963.jpg

In 1951, Chief Epidemiologist Alexander Langmuir's warnings of potential biological warfare during the Korean War spurred the creation of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) as a two-year postgraduate training program in epidemiology. The success of the EIS program led to the launch of Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) in 1980, training more than 18,000 disease detectives in over 80 countries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/healthprotection/fetp-40th-anniversary/index.html|title=FETP 40th Anniversary | Division of Global Health Protection | Global Health | CDC|date=March 12, 2021|website=CDC}} In 2020, FETP celebrated the 40th anniversary of the CDC's support for Thailand's Field Epidemiology Training Program. Thailand was the first FETP site created outside of North America and is found in numerous countries, reflecting CDC's influence in promoting this model internationally.{{cite journal|last1=White|first1=Mark|first2=Sharon M.|last2=McDonnell|first3=Denise H.|last3=Werker|first4=Victor M.|last4=Cardenas|first5=Stephen B.|last5=Thacker|year=2001|title=Partnerships in International Applied Epidemiology Training and Service|journal=American Journal of Epidemiology|volume=154|issue=11|pages=993–999|doi=10.1093/aje/154.11.993|pmid=11724714|doi-access=free}} The Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET) has graduated 950 students.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tephinet.org/training-programs/thailand-field-epidemiology-training-program|title=Thailand Field Epidemiology Training Program | TEPHINET|website=www.tephinet.org}}

The mission of the CDC expanded beyond its original focus on malaria to include sexually transmitted diseases when the Venereal Disease Division of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) was transferred to the CDC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Tuberculosis Control was transferred (in 1960) to the CDC from PHS, and then in 1963 the Immunization program was established.{{cite book|author1=Beth E. Meyerson|author2=Fred A. Martich|author3=Gerald P. Naehr|year=2008|title=Ready to Go: The History and Contributions of U.S. Public Health Advisors|location=Research Triangle Park|publisher=American Social Health Association}}

It became the National Communicable Disease Center effective July 1, 1967, and the Center for Disease Control on June 24, 1970. At the end of the Public Health Service reorganizations of 1966–1973, it was promoted to being a principal operating agency of PHS.

File:Arlen Specter Headquarters Building PHIL 7971.tifIt was renamed to the plural Centers for Disease Control effective October 14, 1980, as the modern organization of having multiple constituent centers was established. By 1990, it had four centers formed in the 1980s: the Center for Infectious Diseases, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, and the Center for Prevention Services; as well as two centers that had been absorbed by CDC from outside: the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in 1973, and the National Center for Health Statistics in 1987.{{cite book |last=Etheridge |first=Elizabeth W. |url=https://archive.org/details/sentinelforhealt00eliz |title=Sentinel for Health: A History of the Centers for Disease Control |date=1992|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520910416 |location= |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sentinelforhealt00eliz/page/229 229–231], [https://archive.org/details/sentinelforhealt00eliz/page/342 342–343] |language=en |url-access=registration}}

An act of the United States Congress appended the words "and Prevention" to the name effective October 27, 1992. However, Congress directed that the initialism CDC be retained because of its name recognition.{{cite journal|title=CDC: the nation's prevention agency |journal=MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep |volume=41 |issue=44 |page=833 |year=1992 |pmid=1331740 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00017924.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110611163317/http://cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00017924.htm |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |url-status=live |author1=Centers for Disease Control (CDC) }} Since the 1990s, the CDC focus has broadened to include chronic diseases, disabilities, injury control, workplace hazards, environmental health threats, and terrorism preparedness. CDC combats emerging diseases and other health risks, including birth defects, West Nile virus, obesity, avian, swine, and pandemic flu, E. coli, and bioterrorism, to name a few. The organization would also prove to be an important factor in preventing the abuse of penicillin. In May 1994 the CDC admitted having sent samples of communicable diseases to the Iraqi government from 1984 through 1989 which were subsequently repurposed for biological warfare, including Botulinum toxin, West Nile virus, Yersinia pestis and Dengue fever virus."The eleventh plague: the politics of biological and chemical warfare" (pp. 84–86) by [http://www.leonardcole.com Leonard A. Cole] (1993)

On April 21, 2005, then–CDC director Julie Gerberding formally announced the reorganization of CDC to "confront the challenges of 21st-century health threats".{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/futures/g_letter_04-21-05.htm|title=Letter from Dr. Gerberding |date=April 21, 2005 |first1=Julie Louise |last1=Gerberding |publisher=CDC, Office of Director, The Futures Initiative |access-date=December 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629062149/http://www.cdc.gov/futures/g_letter_04-21-05.htm|archive-date=June 29, 2016|url-status=dead}} She established four coordinating centers. In 2009 the Obama administration re-evaluated this change and ordered them cut as an unnecessary management layer.{{cite web|last=Koenig|first=Robert|url=http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/08/new-chief-order.html|title=New Chief Orders CDC to Cut Management Layers|publisher=Science |website=ScienceInsider |date=August 7, 2009 |access-date=April 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920141107/http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/08/new-chief-order.html|archive-date=September 20, 2009|url-status=dead}}

As of 2013, the CDC's Biosafety Level 4 laboratories were among the few that exist in the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dhcpp/vspb |website=DHCPP {{!}} NCEZID {{!}} CDC |title=Viral Special Pathogens Branch|access-date=May 18, 2016}} They included one of only two official repositories of smallpox in the world, with the other one located at the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR in the Russian Federation. In 2014, the CDC revealed they had discovered several misplaced smallpox samples while their lab workers were "potentially infected" with anthrax.{{cite web|last=Scutti |first=Susan |url=http://www.newsweek.com/recent-cdc-anthrax-and-smallpox-mishaps-signal-potential-dangers-259923 |title=CDC Smallpox and Anthrax Mishaps Signal Other Potential Dangers |website=Newsweek |date=July 16, 2014 |access-date=February 26, 2017}}

The city of Atlanta annexed the property of the CDC headquarters effective January 1, 2018, as a part of the city's largest annexation within a period of 65 years; the Atlanta City Council had voted to do so the prior December. The CDC and Emory University had requested that the Atlanta city government annex the area, paving the way for a MARTA expansion through the Emory campus, funded by city tax dollars.{{cite web | title=Emory, CDC to be Annexed into Atlanta | last1=Chess | first1=Richard | last2=Bober | first2=Madison | url=https://emorywheel.com/emory-cdc-to-be-annexed-into-atlanta/ | date=December 4, 2017 | website=The Emory Wheel | access-date=May 27, 2023}} The headquarters were located in an unincorporated area,{{cite web|author=Torpy, Bill|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-dekalb-has-annexation-anxiety-over-emory-cdc/EyaVzWIjxULTGi4iv7xwLK/|title=Torpy at Large: DeKalb has annexation anxiety over Emory, CDC|work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=August 7, 2017|access-date=March 11, 2020}} statistically in the Druid Hills census-designated place.{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st13_ga/place/p1324264_druid_hills/DC10BLK_P1324264_001.pdf|title=2010 Census Block Map – Druid Hills CDP, GA|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=July 11, 2023}} – Compare with [https://web.archive.org/web/20100203031222/https://www.cdc.gov/ the address]: "1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA"

On August 17, 2022, Walensky said the CDC would make drastic changes in the wake of mistakes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She outlined an overhaul of how the CDC would analyze and share data and how they would communicate information to the general public. In her statement to all CDC employees, she said: "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."{{cite news |last=Steenhuysen |first=Julie |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cdc-plans-reorganize-structure-after-pandemic-related-criticism-wsj-2022-08-17/ |title=U.S. CDC plans to focus on public health response after pandemic failings |work=Reuters |date=August 17, 2022 |accessdate=August 17, 2022 }} Based on the findings of an internal report, Walensky concluded that "The CDC must refocus itself on public health needs, respond much faster to emergencies and outbreaks of disease, and provide information in a way that ordinary people and state and local health authorities can understand and put to use" (as summarized by the New York Times).

In January 2025 it was reported that a CDC official had ordered all CDC staff to stop working with the World Health Organization.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/27/cdc-world-health-organization-trump |title=CDC health officials in US ordered to stop working with WHO immediately |work=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |date=January 27, 2025 |access-date=February 7, 2025}} Around January 31, 2025, several CDC websites, pages, and datasets related to HIV and STI prevention, LGBT and youth health became unavailable for viewing after the agency was ordered to comply with Donald Trump's executive order to remove all material of "diversity, equity, and inclusion" and "gender identity".{{Cite web |last1=Goodman |first2=Jen |last2=Christensen |first3=Nick |last3=Valencia |first4=Jacqueline |last4=Howard |first5=Deidre |last5=McPhillips |first1=Brenda |date=January 31, 2025 |title=CDC websites, datasets taken down as agency complies with Trump executive orders |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/health/cdc-websites-gender-lgbtq-datasets/index.html |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=CNN }}{{Cite news |last=Stone |first=Will |date=January 31, 2025 |title=Trump administration purges websites across federal health agencies |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5282274/trump-administration-purges-health-websites |access-date=February 1, 2025 |work=NPR }} Shortly thereafter, the CDC ordered its scientists to retract or pause the publication of all research which had been submitted or accepted for publication, but not yet published, which included any of the following banned terms: "Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female”.{{Cite news |last=Faust |first=Jeremy |title=CDC Researchers Ordered to Retract Papers Submitted to All Journals |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/faustfiles/114043 |work=MedPage Today}}

In January 2025, due to a pause in communications imposed by the second Trump administration at federal health agencies, publication of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) was halted, the first time that had happened since its inception in 1960. The president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) called the pause in publication a "disaster." Attempts to halt publication had been made by the first Trump administration after MMWR published information about COVID-19 that "conflicted with messaging from the White House." The pause in communications also caused the cancellation of a meeting between the CDC and IDSA about threats to public health regarding the H5N1 influenza virus.{{cite web |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/generalinfectiousdisease/113905 |title=Trump's Gag Order Halts CDC Publication |work=MedPage Today |last=Robertson |first=Rachael |date=January 23, 2025 |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

On February 14, 2025, around 1,300 CDC employees were laid off by the administration, which included all first-year officers of the Epidemic Intelligence Service.{{Cite web |last=Awan |first=Omer |title=Trump Administration Lays Off CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service Workers, Threatening Science And Public Health |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/omerawan/2025/02/15/trump-administration-lays-off-cdcs-epidemic-intelligence-service-workers-threatening-science-and-public-health/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Forbes |language=en}} The cuts also terminated 16 of the 24 Laboratory Leadership Service program fellows, a program designed for early career lab scientist to address laboratory testing shortcomings of the CDC.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=Layoffs hit many at CDC lab program that was started to address previous failures |url=https://apnews.com/article/cdc-lab-layoffs-b9e13d62d0da00611f84b7762be0c7b9 |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=AP News |language=en}} In the following month, the Trump administration quietly withdrew its CDC director nominee, Dave Weldon, just minutes before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing on March 13.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/13/trump-withdraws-cdc-weldon-nominee/82362283007/ |title=Trump yanks CDC nominee minutes before Senate hearing |first1=Francesca |last1=Chambers |first2=Swapna Venugopal |last2=Ramaswamy |date=March 13, 2025 |newspaper=USA Today}}

In April 2025, it was reported that among the reductions is the elimination of the Freedom of Information Act team, the Division of Violence Prevention, laboratories involved in testing for antibiotic resistance, and the team responsible for determining recalls of hazardous infant products.{{cite news |last=Chidi |first=George |title='No guidance and no leadership': chaos and confusion at CDC after mass firings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/08/hhs-mass-firings |work=The Guardian |date=2025-04-08 |access-date=2025-04-13}} Additional cuts affect the technology branch of the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, which includes software engineers and computer scientists supporting the centre established during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve disease outbreak prediction.

{{Main|Organization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

File:CDC Headquarters PHIL 10693.tif

File:Tom Harkin Global Communications Center PHIL 8876.tif

File:CDC HDR I.jpg, as seen from Emory University]]

The CDC is organized into centers, institutes, and offices (CIOs), with each organizational unit implementing the agency's activities in a particular area of expertise while also providing intra-agency support and resource-sharing for cross-cutting issues and specific health threats.

As of the most recent reorganization in February 2023, the CIOs are:{{Cite web |last= |date=February 21, 2023 |title=CDC Organization |url=https://www.cdc.gov/about/organization/cio.htm |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}}

• National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
• National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
• Division of Global Migration Health{{cite web |last=National Center of Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease |date=February 14, 2019 |title=Divisions and Office Overview |url=https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/who-we-are/ncezid-divisions/index.html |access-date=October 30, 2020 |website=cdc.gov}}
• National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
• National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
• National Center for Environmental Health / Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Public Health Infrastructure Center
• Global Health Center
• Immediate Office of the Director
• Chief of Staff
• Office of the Chief Operating Officer
• Office of Policy, Performance, and Evaluation
• Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Workplace Equity
• Office of Communications
• Office of Health Equity
• Office of Science
• CDC Washington Office
• Office of Laboratory Science and Safety
• Office of Readiness and Response
• Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics
• Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology
• National Center for Health Statistics

The Office of Public Health Preparedness was created during the 2001 anthrax attacks shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Its purpose was to coordinate among the government the response to a range of biological terrorism threats.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/politics/bio-terrorism-office-gets-a-new-director.html|title=Bio-terrorism Office Gets a New Director|date=May 2, 2002|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 17, 2018}}

Most CDC centers are located in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where it has three major campuses:

• The Chamblee Campus in Chamblee, Georgia opened in 1946, inheriting the site and buildings of Lawson General Hospital immediately adjacent to but not part of Naval Air Station Atlanta. Although it was initially planned to be shut down when the Roybal Campus opened, it was found that the latter was not suitable for live animal facilities. The buildings were slowly replaced with modern buildings over time.{{Cite journal |last=Arnett |first=Adam |date=2009-07-14 |title=History of CDC Chamblee: a brief overview of the history of the Chamblee Campus from the early 19th Century to today |url=https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/44877 |journal= |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Etheridge |first=Elizabeth W. |url=https://archive.org/details/sentinelforhealt00eliz/page/25 |title=Sentinel for health : a history of the Centers for Disease Control |date=1992 |publisher=Berkeley : University of California Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-520-07107-0}}
• The Roybal Campus in Atlanta is the largest, named in honor of the late Representative Edward R. Roybal. It was originally called the Clifton Road Campus. Although its land was donated by adjacent Emory University in 1947, it did not open until 1960.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-01 |title=CDC Timeline 1940s–1970s |url=https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/1940-1970.html |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}} Its Building 18, which opened in 2005, contains the premier BSL4 laboratory in the United States.{{cite news |title=CDC Structural Façade Inspection, Building 18 |url=https://ieiusa.com/iei-portfolio/cdc-structural-facade-inspection-building-18-altanta-ga/ |access-date=February 4, 2021 |publisher=Innovative Engineering}}{{cite news |title=Centre for Disease Control – Building 18 |url=http://www.mcw.com/Projects/Details?f=m&title=Centre-for-Disease-Control---Building-18 |access-date=February 4, 2021 |publisher=MCW Hemisphere |archive-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821214417/http://www.mcw.com/Projects/Details?f=m&title=Centre-for-Disease-Control---Building-18 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Young |first1=Alison |title=Newly disclosed CDC biolab failures 'like a screenplay for a disaster movie' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/06/02/newly-disclosed-cdc-lab-incidents-fuel-concerns-safety-transparency/84978860/ |publisher=USA Today |date=June 2, 2016}}
• The Lawrenceville Campus in Lawrenceville, Georgia was acquired as a destination for Chamblee's animal facilities if that campus was shut down. It was first developed in the early 1960s.{{Cite web |date=January 2018 |title=Final Revised Environmental Assessment for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Lawrenceville Campus Proposed Improvements 2015–2025 |url=https://downloads.regulations.gov/CDC-2015-0049-0005/content.pdf |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

A few of the centers are based in or operate other domestic locations:{{Cite web|date=April 23, 2019|title=Living in Atlanta|url=https://www.cdc.gov/jobs/living-in-atlanta.html|access-date=May 29, 2019|website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

• The National Center for Health Statistics is primarily located in Hyattsville, Maryland, with a branch in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's primary locations are Cincinnati; Morgantown, West Virginia; Pittsburgh; Spokane, Washington; and Washington, D.C., with branches in Denver; Anchorage, Alaska; and Atlanta.
• The CDC Washington Office is based in Washington, D.C.
• Two divisions of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases are based outside Atlanta. The Division of Vector-Borne Diseases is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, with a branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Arctic Investigations Program is based in Anchorage.

In addition, CDC operates quarantine facilities in 20 cities in the U.S.{{Cite web|date=April 24, 2019|title=U.S. Quarantine Stations|url=https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/quarantine-stations-us.html|access-date=May 29, 2019|website=U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

The CDC budget for fiscal year 2024 is $11.581{{nbsp}}billion.{{Cite web |publisher=CDC |date=March 9, 2023 |title=CDC Statement on President's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget |url=https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/s0309-budget.html|accessdate=October 2, 2024}}

{{As of|2021|post=,}} CDC staff numbered approximately 15,000 personnel (including 6,000 contractors and 840 United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers) in 170 occupations. Eighty percent held bachelor's degrees or higher; almost half had advanced degrees (a master's degree or a doctorate such as a PhD, D.O., or M.D.).{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/about/stateofcdc/html/budget-workforce.htm|title=State of CDC: Budget and Workforce|author=Office of the Associate Director for Communication|date=May 19, 2010|work=CDC Impact Story Topics|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|format=XHTML|access-date=March 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122030856/http://www.cdc.gov/about/stateofcdc/html/budget-workforce.htm|archive-date=January 22, 2013|url-status=dead}} For more data on 2008, click on the "2008" link.

Common CDC job titles include engineer, entomologist, epidemiologist, biologist, physician, veterinarian, behavioral scientist, nurse, medical technologist, economist, public health advisor, health communicator, toxicologist, chemist, computer scientist, and statistician.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/employment/menu_topjobs.html|title=Top Jobs at the CDC|date=April 1, 2008|work=Employment Information Homepage|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=March 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116010109/http://www.cdc.gov/employment/menu_topjobs.html|archive-date=November 16, 2016|url-status=dead}} The CDC also operates a number of notable training and fellowship programs, including those indicated below.

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is composed of "boots-on-the-ground disease detectives" who investigate public health problems domestically and globally.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/eis/index.html|title=Epidemic Intelligence Service|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=September 27, 2016}} When called upon by a governmental body, EIS officers may embark on short-term epidemiological assistance assignments, or "Epi-Aids", to provide technical expertise in containing and investigating disease outbreaks.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/eis/epiaids.html|title=Epidemiologic Assistance|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=September 27, 2016}}{{cite book|title=Infectious diseases: emergence and re-emergence: a geographical analysis|last=Cliff|first=A.D.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0199244737|location=Oxford, UK}}{{Cite journal|last1=Koplan|first1=Jeffrey P.|last2=Foege|first2=William H.|date=December 1, 2011|title=Introduction: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Epi-Aids – a fond recollection|journal=American Journal of Epidemiology|volume=174|issue=11 Suppl|pages=S1–3|doi=10.1093/aje/kwr303|issn=1476-6256|pmid=22135388|doi-access=free}} The EIS program is a model for the international Field Epidemiology Training Program.

The CDC also operates the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP), a two-year paid fellowship for recent college graduates to work in public health agencies all over the United States. PHAP was founded in 2007 and currently{{when|date=August 2019}} has 159 associates in 34 states.[https://www.cdc.gov/phap/index.html Public Health Associate Program website], CDC; retrieved April 12, 2014.

File:David J. Sencer.png.]]

The Director of CDC is a position that currently requires Senate confirmation. The director serves at the pleasure of the President and may be fired at any time. The CDC director concurrently serves as the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.{{Cite journal |last=Dull |first=H. Bruce |date=May–June 1991 |title=About the CDC |journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=188 |doi=10.1016/s0749-3797(18)30938-3}}

Prior to January 20, 2025, it was a Senior Executive Service position{{Cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2016/content-detail.html|title=United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book)|date=2016|website=U.S. Government Publishing Office|access-date=March 22, 2018}} that could be filled either by a career employee, or as a political appointment that does not require Senate confirmation, with the latter method typically being used.Wilgoren, Debbi and Shear, Michael D. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051500295.html "Obama Chooses NYC Health Chief to Head CDC"], The Washington Post, May 16, 2009.Patel, Kant; Rushefsky, Mark E.; and McFarlane, Deborah R. The Politics of Public Health in the United States. M.E. Sharpe, 2005; {{ISBN|978-0765611352}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}. The change to requiring Senate confirmation was due to a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.{{Cite web |last=Frieden |first=Joyce |date=June 28, 2023 |title=CDC Director Post Will Require Senate Confirmation Starting in 2025 |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/105249 |access-date=September 13, 2023 |website=MedPage Today |language=en}}

Twenty directors have{{when|date=August 2022}} served the CDC or its predecessor agencies, including three who have served during the Trump administration (including Anne Schuchat who twice served as acting director){{cite web|title=Past CDC Directors/Administrators|work=Office of Enterprise Communication|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)|date=February 19, 2009|url= https://www.cdc.gov/about/history/pastdirectors.htm|access-date=May 19, 2009}}{{dead link |date=January 2025}} and three who have served during the Carter administration (including one acting director not shown here).{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704740604576301531342633482|title=Health Official Reigned in '76 Swine-Flu Fight|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 4, 2011|url-access=subscription}} Two served under Bill Clinton, but only one under the Nixon to Ford terms.

Past Directors{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/museum/history/pastdirectors.html |title=Past Directors |work=CDC}}

• CDC Scientific Data, Surveillance, Health Statistics, and Laboratory Information.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/scientific.htm|title=CDC Data and Statistics|publisher=CDC – National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion|access-date=August 10, 2006}}
• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the world's largest, ongoing telephone health-survey system.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/BRFSS|title=Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System|publisher=CDC: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion|access-date=August 5, 2006}}
• [https://www.cdc.gov/prams/index.htm Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System] (PRAMS), a surveillance system on maternal and infant health with telephone and mail questionnaires in English and Spanish{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Kevin |last2=Sha |first2=M. Mandy |date=March 1, 2013 |title=A Comparison of Results from a Spanish and English Mail Survey: Effects of Instruction Placement on Item Missingness |url=https://surveyinsights.org/?p=1741 |journal=Survey Methods: Insights from the Field |language=en-US |doi=10.13094/SMIF-2013-00006 |issn=2296-4754 |doi-access=free}} in 50 US jurisdictions.{{Cite web |date=April 22, 2022 |title=About PRAMS {{!}} CDC |url=https://www.cdc.gov/prams/about/prams-faq.htm |access-date=December 21, 2023 |website=www.cdc.gov |language=en-us}}
• Mortality Medical Data System.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/dvs/about.htm|title=NCHS – Mortality Data – About the Mortality Medical Data System|publisher=CDC – National Center for Health Statistics|access-date=January 9, 2007}}
• Abortion statistics in the United States{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Data_Stats/index.htm|title=CDC – Data and Statistics – Reproductive Health|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|date=April 4, 2012|access-date=April 16, 2012}}
• CDC WONDER (Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research){{Cite web|url=https://wonder.cdc.gov/|title=CDC WONDER|website=wonder.cdc.gov}}
• Data systems of the National Center for Health Statistics{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm|title=CDC – NCHS – National Center for Health Statistics|date=August 8, 2021|website=CDC}}

File:Smallpox eradication team.jpg as part of the CDC's smallpox eradication team in 1966]]

The CDC's programs address more than 400 diseases, health threats, and conditions that are major causes of death, disease, and disability. The CDC's website has information on various infectious (and noninfectious) diseases, including smallpox, measles, and others.

The CDC targets the transmission of influenza, including the H1N1 swine flu, and launched websites to educate people about hygiene.{{cite web|url = https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm|title = Influenza (Flu)|date = June 4, 2021|publisher = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

File:Preparing to enter Ebola treatment unit.jpg staff preparing to enter an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia, August 2014]]

Within the division are two programs: the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) and the Import Permit Program. The FSAP is run jointly with an office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regulating agents that can cause disease in humans, animals, and plants. The Import Permit Program regulates the importation of "infectious biological materials."{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/phpr/dsat/about.htm|title=About the Division of Select Agents and Toxins|date=October 10, 2018|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=October 17, 2018}}

The CDC runs a program that protects the public from rare and dangerous substances such as anthrax and the Ebola virus. The program, called the Federal Select Agent Program, calls for inspections of labs in the U.S. that work with dangerous pathogens.Cohen, Bryan. [http://bioprepwatch.com/biological-threats/cdcs-select-agents-program-protects-against-bioterror-threats/335879 "CDC's Select Agents Program protects against bioterror threats"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20141018024321/http://bioprepwatch.com/biological-threats/cdcs-select-agents-program-protects-against-bioterror-threats/335879 |date=October 18, 2014 }}, BioPrepWatch, February 10, 2014; accessed October 17, 2014.

During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the CDC helped coordinate the return of two infected American aid workers for treatment at Emory University Hospital, the home of a special unit to handle highly infectious diseases.{{cite news|last1=Achenbach|first1=Joel|last2=Dennis|first2=Brady|last3=Hogan|first3=Caelainn|title=American doctor infected with Ebola returns to U.S.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-confirms-2-americans-with-ebola-coming-home-for-treatment/2014/08/01/c20a27cc-1995-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 2, 2014}}

As a response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Congress passed a Continuing Appropriations Resolution allocating $30,000,000 towards CDC's efforts to fight the virus.{{cite web|title=Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015|url=https://beta.congress.gov/113/bills/hjres124/BILLS-113hjres124ih.pdf|publisher=congress.gov|access-date=September 17, 2014}}

The CDC also works on non-communicable diseases, including chronic diseases caused by obesity, physical inactivity and tobacco-use.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/obesity|title=Overweight & Obesity|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=August 4, 2015}} The work of the Division for Cancer Prevention and Control, led from 2010 by Lisa C. Richardson, is also within this remit.{{cite web |title=Organization Chart |url=https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/center/organization/index.htm |publisher=CDC |website = National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)|date = March 22, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Division of Cancer Prevention and Control – at a glance |url=https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/pdf/aag/dcpc-H.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618075611/https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/pdf/aag/dcpc-H.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2019 |url-status=live |website=CDC |access-date=August 17, 2021}}

The CDC implemented their National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria as a measure against the spread of antibiotic resistance in the United States. This initiative has a budget of $161{{nbsp}}million and includes the development of the Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/solutions-initiative/ar-lab-networks.html |title=Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network | Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance | CDC |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=January 5, 2017 |access-date=February 26, 2017}}

Globally, the CDC works with other organizations to address global health challenges and contain disease threats at their source. They work with many international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as ministries of health and other groups on the front lines of outbreaks. The agency maintains staff in more than 60 countries, including some from the U.S. but more from the countries in which they operate.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/what/default.htm|title=CDC Global Health – What We're Doing|date=September 15, 2017|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=April 19, 2018}} The agency's global divisions include the Division of Global HIV and TB (DGHT), the Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), the Division of Global Health Protection (DGHP), and the Global Immunization Division (GID).{{cite web|url = https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/organization.htm |title = Organization of the CDC Center for Global Health|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|date = March 24, 2016}}

The CDC has been working with the WHO to implement the International Health Regulations (IHR), an agreement between 196 countries to prevent, control, and report on the international spread of disease, through initiatives including the Global Disease Detection Program (GDD).{{cite web | url = http://www.uniteforsight.org/surveillance/module2 | website = Unite for Sight | title = Module 2: WHO and CDC Global Surveillance Systems | access-date = January 20, 2017 | archive-date = June 22, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180622142529/http://www.uniteforsight.org/surveillance/module2 | url-status = dead }}

The CDC has also been involved in implementing the U.S. global health initiatives President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and President's Malaria Initiative.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhivtb/who-we-are/about-us/globalhiv/globalhiv.html|title=CDC's Role in Global HIV Control|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=April 19, 2018}}

The CDC collects and publishes health information for travelers in a comprehensive book, CDC Health Information for International Travel, which is commonly known as the "yellow book."{{cite web|url=https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/yellowbook-home|title=2018 Yellow Book Home|website=CDC|access-date=June 1, 2017}} The book is available online and in print as a new edition every other year and includes current travel health guidelines, vaccine recommendations, and information on specific travel destinations. The CDC also issues travel health notices on its website, consisting of three levels:

• "Watch": Level 1 (practice usual precautions)
• "Alert": Level 2 (practice enhanced precautions)
• "Warning": Level 3 (avoid nonessential travel){{cite web|url=https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices|title=Travel Health Notices|website=CDC |date = August 29, 2019}}

The CDC uses a number of tools to monitor the safety of vaccines. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a national vaccine safety surveillance program run by CDC and the FDA. "VAERS detects possible safety issues with U.S. vaccines by collecting information about adverse events (possible side effects or health problems) after vaccination."{{Cite web|date=July 23, 2020|title=Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)|url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vaers/index.html|access-date=August 28, 2020|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}} The CDC's Safety Information by Vaccine page provides a list of the latest safety information, side effects, and answers to common questions about CDC recommended vaccines.{{Cite web|date=July 17, 2020|title=Safety Information by Vaccine|url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/index.html|access-date=August 28, 2020|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) works with a network of healthcare organizations to share data on vaccine safety and adverse events.{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=R. T. |last2=Glasser |first2=J. W. |last3=Rhodes |first3=P. H. |last4=Davis |first4=R. L. |last5=Barlow |first5=W. E. |last6=Thompson |first6=R. S. |last7=Mullooly |first7=J. P. |last8=Black |first8=S. B. |last9=Shinefield |first9=H. R. |last10=Vadheim |first10=C. M. |last11=Marcy |first11=S. M. |last12=Ward |first12=J. I. |last13=Wise |first13=R. P. |last14=Wassilak |first14=S. G. |last15=Hadler |first15=S. C. |title=Vaccine Safety Datalink Project: A New Tool for Improving Vaccine Safety Monitoring in the United States |journal=Pediatrics |date=June 1, 1997 |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=765–773 |doi=10.1542/peds.99.6.765|pmid=9164767 }} The Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) project is a network of vaccine experts and health centers that research and assist the CDC in the area of vaccine safety.{{cite web |title=Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Project |url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/cisa/index.html |website=CDC |access-date=October 7, 2022 |language=en-us |date=September 30, 2021}}

CDC also runs a program called V-safe, a smartphone web application that allows COVID-19 vaccine recipients to be surveyed in detail about their health in response to getting the shot.{{Cite web |last=CDC |date=July 18, 2022 |title=V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker |url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafe.html |access-date=October 7, 2022 |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}}

The CDC Foundation operates independently from CDC as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of Georgia. The creation of the Foundation was authorized by section 399F of the Public Health Service Act to support the mission of CDC in partnership with the private sector, including organizations, foundations, businesses, educational groups, and individuals.{{cite web|title=42 U.S. Code § 280e–11 – Establishment and duties of Foundation |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/280e-11 |website=Legal Information Institute |access-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918211846/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/280e-11 |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cdcfoundation.org|title=CDCfoundation.org|publisher=CDCfoundation.org|access-date=April 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427005757/http://www.cdcfoundation.org|archive-date=April 27, 2012|url-status=live}} From 1995 to 2022, the foundation raised over $1.6 billion and launched more than 1,200 health programs.{{Cite web |last= |date=July 7, 2022 |title=CDC Foundation |url=https://www.cdc.gov/about/business/cdcfoun.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725170721/https://www.cdc.gov/about/business/cdcfoun.htm |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |language=en-us}} Bill Cosby formerly served as a member of the foundation's Board of Directors, continuing as an honorary member after completing his term.{{Cite web |last1=Stokes |first1=Charles |last2=Jacobs |first2=Phil |title=Fiscal Year 2008 Report to Contributors |url=https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/upload/pdf/ReportToContributors_FY08.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806034654/https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/upload/pdf/ReportToContributors_FY08.pdf |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=CDC Foundation}}

The foundation engages in research projects and health programs in more than 160 countries every year, including in focus areas such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, emergency response, and infectious diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, Ebola, rotavirus, and COVID-19.

• EmPOWERED Health Program: Launched in November 2019 with funding from Amgen, the program works to empower cancer patients to become actively involved in the decision making around their treatments.{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2021 |title=CDC Foundation Active Programs October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021 |url=https://www.cdcfoundation.org/CDCF-ActivePrograms-CDC-FY21?inline |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115161004/https://www.cdcfoundation.org/CDCF-ActivePrograms-CDC-FY21?inline |archive-date=January 15, 2022 |access-date=August 8, 2022 |website=CDC Foundation}}{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=EmPOWERED Health Program |url=https://www.cdcfoundation.org/programs/empowered-health-program |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808155430/https://www.cdcfoundation.org/programs/empowered-health-program |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |access-date=August 8, 2022 |website=CDC Foundation |language=en}}
• Fries Prize for Improving Health: An annual prize first awarded in 1992 that "recognizes an individual who has made major accomplishments in health improvement and with the general criteria of the greatest good for the greatest number".{{Cite web |title=Fries Prize for Improving Health {{!}} CDC Foundation |url=https://www.cdcfoundation.org/fries-prize-for-improving-health |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=www.cdcfoundation.org |language=en}}

In 2015, BMJ associate editor Jeanne Lenzer raised concerns that the CDC's recommendations and publications may be influenced by donations received through the Foundation, which includes pharmaceutical companies.{{Cite journal |last=Lenzer |first=Jeanne |date=May 15, 2015 |title=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: protecting the private good? |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2362 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=350 |pages=h2362 |doi=10.1136/bmj.h2362 |issn=1756-1833 |pmid=25979454|s2cid=37357486 }}

For 15 years, the CDC had direct oversight over the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm|title=U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee: The Tuskegee Timeline |publisher=National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC|date = December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103131421/https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2016 |url-status=live}} In the study, which lasted from 1932 to 1972, a group of Black men (nearly 400 of whom had syphilis) were studied to learn more about the disease. The disease was left untreated in the men, who had not given their informed consent to serve as research subjects. The Tuskegee Study was initiated in 1932 by the Public Health Service, with the CDC taking over the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program in 1995.

An area of partisan dispute related to CDC funding is studying firearms effectiveness. Although the CDC was one of the first government agencies to study gun related data, in 1996 the Dickey Amendment, passed with the support of the National Rifle Association of America, states "none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control".{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506002733/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=live|title=Public Law 104-208|date=September 30, 1996|work=Congressional Record|quote=... none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.}} Advocates for gun control oppose the amendment and have tried to overturn it.{{cite web|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-02/quietly-congress-extends-ban-cdc-research-gun-violence|title=Quietly, Congress extends a ban on CDC research on guns|publisher=Pri.org|access-date=November 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703074353/http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-02/quietly-congress-extends-ban-cdc-research-gun-violence|archive-date=July 3, 2015|url-status=dead}}

Looking at the history of the passage of the Dickey Amendment, in 1992, Mark L. Rosenberg and five CDC colleagues founded the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, with an annual budget of approximately $260,000. They focused on "identifying causes of firearm deaths, and methods to prevent them".{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/cdc-gun-violence/476814 |title=Why Did the CDC Stop Researching Guns? |newspaper=The Atlantic |quote="The agencys' former leaders say they could do more to explore the subject, but officials fear political{{snd}}and personal{{snd}}retribution." |first=Kate |last=Masters |date=April 5, 2016 |access-date=February 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405110730/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/cdc-gun-violence/476814 |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |url-status=live}} Their first report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993 entitled "Guns are a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home", reported "mere presence of a gun in a home increased the risk of a firearm-related death by 2.7 percent, and suicide fivefold{{snd}}a "huge" increase." In response, the NRA launched a "campaign to shut down the Injury Center." Two conservative pro-gun groups, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership and Doctors for Integrity and Policy Research joined the pro-gun effort, and, by 1995, politicians also supported the pro-gun initiative. In 1996, Jay Dickey (R) Arkansas introduced the Dickey Amendment statement stating "none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control" as a rider. in the 1996 appropriations bill." In 1997, "Congress re-directed all of the money for gun research to the study of traumatic brain injury." David Satcher, CDC head 1993–98{{cite web|author=Office of Public Health and Science |title=David Satcher (1998–2002) |url=http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/biosatcher.htm |publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |date=January 4, 2007 |access-date=January 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205160010/http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/biosatcher.htm |archive-date=December 5, 2007 |url-status=dead }} advocated for firearms research. In 2016 over a dozen "public health insiders, including current and former CDC senior leaders" told The Trace interviewers that CDC senior leaders took a cautious stance in their interpretation of the Dickey Amendment and that they could do more but were afraid of political and personal retribution.

In 2013, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee asking them "to support at least $10{{nbsp}}million within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2014 along with sufficient new taxes at the National Institutes of Health to support research into the causes and prevention of violence. Furthermore, we urge Members to oppose any efforts to reduce, eliminate, or condition CDC funding related to violence prevention research."{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/congressional/Democrats_push_to_restart_CDC_funding_for_gun_violence_research.html|title=Democrats push to restart CDC funding for gun violence research|date=May 21, 2014 |publisher=Philly.com|access-date=November 29, 2015}} Congress maintained the ban in subsequent budgets.

In October 2014, the CDC gave a nurse with a fever who was later diagnosed with Ebola permission to board a commercial flight to Cleveland.{{cite news |date=October 15, 2014 |title=Ebola nurse got CDC OK for Cleveland trip |url=http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/15/second-dallas-hospital-worker-diagnosed-ebola/17290677/ |url-status=dead |access-date=October 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017141442/http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/15/second-dallas-hospital-worker-diagnosed-ebola/17290677/ |archive-date=October 17, 2014}}

{{See also|Trump administration communication during the COVID-19 pandemic#Testing|}}

The CDC has been widely criticized for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, CDC director Rochelle Walensky acknowledged "some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes, from testing to data to communications", based on the findings of an internal examination.{{Cite news |last1=LaFraniere |first1=Sharon |last2=Weiland |first2=Noah |date=August 17, 2022 |title=Walensky, Citing Botched Pandemic Response, Calls for C.D.C. Reorganization |language=en-US |work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/us/politics/cdc-rochelle-walensky-covid.html |access-date=August 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered in the U.S. on January 20, 2020.{{Cite journal|last1=Holshue|first1=Michelle L.|last2=DeBolt|first2=Chas|last3=Lindquist|first3=Scott|last4=Lofy|first4=Kathy H.|last5=Wiesman|first5=John|last6=Bruce|first6=Hollianne|last7=Spitters|first7=Christopher|last8=Ericson|first8=Keith|last9=Wilkerson|first9=Sara|last10=Tural|first10=Ahmet|last11=Diaz|first11=George|date=March 5, 2020|title=First Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=382|issue=10|pages=929–936|doi=10.1056/NEJMoa2001191|issn=0028-4793|pmc=7092802|pmid=32004427}} However, widespread COVID-19 testing in the United States was effectively stalled until February 28, when federal officials revised a faulty CDC test, and days afterward, when the Food and Drug Administration began loosening rules that had restricted other labs from developing tests.{{Cite news|last1=Whoriskey|first1=Peter|last2=Satija|first2=Neena|title=How U.S. coronavirus testing stalled: Flawed tests, red tape and resistance to using the millions of tests produced by the WHO|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/16/cdc-who-coronavirus-tests/}} In February 2020, as the CDC's early coronavirus test malfunctioned nationwide,{{Cite web|first1=Sara |last1=Murray|first2=Nick |last2=Valencia|first3=Jeremy |last3=Diamond|first4=Scott |last4=Glover|title=How coronavirus testing fumbles squandered valuable time|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/coronavirus-testing-trump-administration-response-invs/index.html|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=CNN|date=April 20, 2020 }} CDC Director Robert R. Redfield reassured fellow officials on the White House Coronavirus Task Force that the problem would be quickly solved, according to White House officials. It took about three weeks to sort out the failed test kits, which may have been contaminated during their processing in a CDC lab. Later investigations by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services found that the CDC had violated its own protocols in developing its tests.{{Cite news|last=Willman|first=David|date=June 20, 2020|title=CDC coronavirus test kits were likely contaminated, federal review confirms|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/cdc-coronavirus-test-kits-were-likely-contaminated-federal-review-confirms/2020/06/20/1ceb4e16-b2ef-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html}} In November 2020, NPR reported that an internal review document they obtained revealed that the CDC was aware that the first batch of tests which were issued in early January had a chance of being wrong 33 percent of the time, but they released them anyway.{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Alexandra |title=CDC knew first coronavirus test was flawed but released it anyway: report |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/medical-advances/524784-cdc-knew-first-coronavirus-test-was-flawed-but/ |website=The Hill |date=November 6, 2020 |access-date=November 13, 2020}}

In May 2020, The Atlantic reported that the CDC was conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests – tests that diagnose current coronavirus infections, and tests that measure whether someone has ever had the virus. The magazine said this distorted several important metrics, provided the country with an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic, and overstated the country's testing ability.{{Cite web|last1=Madrigal | first1=Alexis C. | last2=Meyer | first2=Robinson |date=May 21, 2020|title=How Could the CDC Make That Mistake?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/cdc-and-states-are-misreporting-covid-19-test-data-pennsylvania-georgia-texas/611935/|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US}}

In July 2020, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and instead send all COVID-19 patient information to a database at the Department of Health and Human Services. Some health experts opposed the order and warned that the data might become politicized or withheld from the public.{{Cite news|last=Stolberg|first=Sheryl Gay|date=July 14, 2020|title=Trump Administration Strips C.D.C. of Control of Coronavirus Data|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/trump-cdc-coronavirus.html|access-date=August 9, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} On July 15, the CDC alarmed health care groups by temporarily removing COVID-19 dashboards from its website. It restored the data a day later.{{Cite web|last=Ornstein|first=Charles|title=Out of View: After Public Outcry, CDC Adds Hospital Data Back to Its Website – for Now|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/out-of-view-after-public-outcry-cdc-adds-hospital-data-back-to-its-website-for-now?token=TuMy8gExpvZxdxiWRs7mTz21zSyVml5E|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=ProPublica|date=July 16, 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Who took down the CDC's coronavirus data? The agency itself.|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/16/who-took-down-the-cdcs-coronavirus-data-the-agency-itself-367018|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=Politico|date=July 16, 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=CDC|date=July 16, 2020|title=COVID-19 Data Dashboard – Patient Impact & Hospital Capacity|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/covid19/report-patient-impact.html|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|language=en-us}}

In August 2020, the CDC recommended that people showing no COVID-19 symptoms do not need testing. The new guidelines alarmed many public health experts.{{Cite news|last=Wu|first=Katherine J.|date=August 25, 2020|title=C.D.C. Now Says People Without Covid-19 Symptoms Do Not Need Testing|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/health/covid-19-testing-cdc.html|access-date=September 1, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} The guidelines were crafted by the White House Coronavirus Task Force without the sign-off of Anthony Fauci of the NIH.{{Cite web|last=Sheridan|first=Kate|date=August 27, 2020|title=CDC director attempts to clarify controversial Covid-19 testing guidelines|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/27/redfield-clarify-controversial-testing-guidelines/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=STAT|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last1=Branswell|first1=Helen |first2=Kate |last2=Sheridan |date=August 27, 2020|title=New Covid-19 testing guidelines, crafted at the White House, alarm public health experts|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/26/new-covid19-testing-guidelines-crafted-at-white-house-alarm-public-health-experts/|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=STAT|language=en-US}} Objections by other experts at the CDC went unheard. Officials said that a CDC document in July arguing for "the importance of reopening schools" was also crafted outside the CDC.{{Cite news|date=September 18, 2020|title=Covid-19 Live Updates: C.D.C. Website's Controversial Testing Guideline Was Not Written by C.D.C. Scientists|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 18, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} On August 16, the chief of staff, Kyle McGowan, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, resigned from the agency.Weiland, Noah, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/us/politics/cdc-trump.html 'Like a Hand Grasping': Trump Appointees Describe the Crushing of the C.D.C.]", The New York Times, December 16, 2020. The testing guidelines were reversed on September 18, 2020, after public controversy.{{Cite news|date=September 19, 2020|title=After Criticism, C.D.C. Reverses Covid-19 Guidelines on Testing People Who Were Exposed|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/world/covid-coronavirus.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 19, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

In September 2020, the CDC drafted an order requiring masks on all public transportation in the United States, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force blocked the order, refusing to discuss it, according to two federal health officials.{{Cite news|last=Kaplan|first=Sheila|date=October 10, 2020|title=Covid-19 Live Updates: White House Blocked C.D.C. From Mandating Masks on Public Transit|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/09/world/covid-coronavirus |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 10, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

In October 2020, it was disclosed that White House advisers had repeatedly altered the writings of CDC scientists about COVID-19, including recommendations on church choirs, social distancing in bars and restaurants, and summaries of public-health reports.{{Cite news|first1=Rebecca |last1=Ballhaus |first2=Stephanie |last2=Armour |first3=Betsy |last3=McKay |date=October 15, 2020|title=A Demoralized CDC Grapples With White House Meddling and Its Own Mistakes|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-demoralized-cdc-grapples-with-white-house-meddling-and-its-own-mistakes-11602776561 |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2020|issn=0099-9660}}

In the lead up to 2020 Thanksgiving, the CDC advised Americans not to travel for the holiday saying, "It's not a requirement. It's a recommendation for the American public to consider." The White House coronavirus task force had its first public briefing in months on that date but travel was not mentioned.{{Cite news|date=November 20, 2020|title=Coronavirus: CDC urges Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55011155|access-date=November 21, 2020}}

The New York Times later concluded that the CDC's decisions to "ben[d] to political pressure from the Trump White House to alter key public health guidance or withhold it from the public [...] cost it a measure of public trust that experts say it still has not recaptured" as of 2022.

In May 2021, following criticism by scientists, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance to acknowledge airborne transmission of COVID-19, after having previously claimed that the majority of infections occurred via "close contact, not airborne transmission".{{Cite web |last=May |first=Brandon |date=May 10, 2021 |title=After Months of Prodding, CDC Updates Guidance on COVID-19 Airborne Transmission |url=https://www.biospace.com/article/cdc-s-updated-guidance-includes-statement-on-covid-19-airborne-transmission-/ |access-date=August 21, 2022 |website=BioSpace |language=en-US}}

In December 2021, following a request from the CEO of Delta Air Lines, CDC shortened its recommended isolation period for asymptomatic individuals infected with COVID-19 from 10 days to five.{{Cite news |work=NPR |url= https://www.npr.org/2021/12/29/1068731487/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-to-cut-quarantine |title= Delta's CEO asked the CDC for a 5-day isolation. Some flight attendants feel at risk |first1=Deepa |last1=Shivaram |date=December 29, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204135120/https://www.npr.org/2021/12/29/1068731487/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-to-cut-quarantine |archive-date= February 4, 2024 }}{{Cite web |last=Shepardson |first=David |date=December 21, 2021 |title=Delta CEO asks CDC to cut quarantine time for breakthrough COVID cases |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-cut-quarantine-time-breakthrough-covid-cases-2021-12-21/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714122900/https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-cut-quarantine-time-breakthrough-covid-cases-2021-12-21/ |archive-date=July 14, 2023 |website=Reuters}}{{Cite web |title=US shortens Covid-19 isolation window amid airline push |url=https://www.argusmedia.com/metals-platform/newsandanalysis/article/2287248-US-shortens-Covid-19-isolation-window-amid-airline-push |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=Argus Metals |date=December 28, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101203244/https://www.argusmedia.com/metals-platform/newsandanalysis/article/2287248-US-shortens-Covid-19-isolation-window-amid-airline-push |archive-date=November 1, 2023 }}

Until 2022, the CDC withheld critical data about COVID-19 vaccine boosters, hospitalizations and wastewater data.{{Cite news |last=Mandavilli |first=Apoorva |date=February 20, 2022 |title=The C.D.C. Isn't Publishing Large Portions of the Covid Data It Collects |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/health/covid-cdc-data.html |access-date=August 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

On June 10, 2022, the Biden Administration ordered the CDC to remove the COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the United States.{{Cite news |date=June 11, 2022 |title=US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country |newspaper=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/10/politics/us-to-end-pre-departure-testing-requirement/index.html |last1=Collins |first1=Kaitlan }}

During the pandemic, the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) came under pressure from political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to modify its reporting so as not to conflict with what Trump was saying about the pandemic.{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809|title=Trump officials interfered with CDC reports on Covid-19|last=Diamond|first=Dan|date=September 11, 2020|work=Politico|access-date=September 14, 2020}}

Starting in June 2020, Michael Caputo, the HHS assistant secretary for public affairs, and his chief advisor Paul Alexander tried to delay, suppress, change, and retroactively edit MMR releases about the effectiveness of potential treatments for COVID-19, the transmissibility of the virus, and other issues where the president had taken a public stance. Alexander tried unsuccessfully to get personal approval of all issues of MMWR before they went out.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/12/trump-control-over-cdc-reports/ |url-access=subscription |title=Trump officials seek greater control over CDC reports on coronavirus|last=Sun|first=Lena H.|date=September 12, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 14, 2020}}

Caputo claimed this oversight was necessary because MMWR reports were being tainted by "political content"; he demanded to know the political leanings of the scientists who reported that hydroxychloroquine had little benefit as a treatment while Trump was saying the opposite. In emails Alexander accused CDC scientists of attempting to "hurt the president" and writing "hit pieces on the administration".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-politics-cdc.html |last1=Weiland |first1=Noah |last2=Stolberg |first2=Sheryl Gay |last3=Goodnough |first3=Abby |url-access=subscription |title=Political Appointees Meddled in C.D.C.'s 'Holiest of the Holy' Health Reports|date=September 12, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 14, 2020}}

In October 2020, emails obtained by Politico showed that Alexander requested multiple alterations in a report. The published alterations included a title being changed from "Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults" to "Persons." One current and two former CDC officials who reviewed the email exchanges said they were troubled by the "intervention to alter scientific reports viewed as untouchable prior to the Trump administration" that "appeared to minimize the risks of the coronavirus to children by making the report's focus on children less clear."{{cite web |last1=Diamond |first1=Dan |title=Trump official pressured CDC to change report on Covid and kids |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/05/trump-cdc-coronavirus-report-change-425538 |website=Politico|date=October 5, 2020 |access-date=October 7, 2020}}

A poll conducted in September 2020 found that nearly 8 in 10 Americans trusted the CDC, a decrease from 87 percent in April 2020. Another poll showed an even larger drop in trust with the results dropping 16 percentage points.{{Cite web|last=Monroe|first=Madeline|date=September 15, 2020|title=Polls show trust in scientific, political institutions eroding|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/516412-polls-show-trust-in-scientific-political-institutions-eroding/|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=The Hill|language=en}} By January 2022, according to an NBC News poll, only 44% of Americans trusted the CDC compared to 69% at the beginning of the pandemic.{{Cite news |last=Hamblin |first=James |date=March 12, 2022 |title=Can Public Health Be Saved? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/public-health-trust.html |access-date=April 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}} As the trustworthiness eroded, so too did the information it disseminates. The diminishing level of trust in the CDC and the information releases also incited "vaccine hesitancy" with the result that "just 53 percent of Americans said they would be somewhat or extremely likely to get a vaccine."

In September 2020, amid the accusations and the faltering image of the CDC, the agency's leadership was called into question. Former acting director at the CDC, Richard Besser, said of Redfield that "I find it concerning that the CDC director has not been outspoken when there have been instances of clear political interference in the interpretation of science."{{Cite web|date=September 16, 2020|title=CDC director is seen as allowing agency to buckle to political influence|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/16/as-controversies-swirl-cdc-director-is-seen-as-allowing-agency-to-buckle-to-political-influence/|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=STAT|language=en-US}} In addition, Mark Rosenberg, the first director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, also questioned Redfield's leadership and his lack of defense of the science.

Historically, the CDC has not been a political agency; however, the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, resulted in a "dangerous shift" according to a previous CDC director and others. Four previous directors claim that the agency's voice was "muted for political reasons."{{cite web |title=CDC's politicization 'extremely dangerous' for Americans, says its former head |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cdcs-politicization-extremely-dangerous-for-americans-says-its-former-head |website=PBS NewsHour |date=July 14, 2020 |access-date=May 7, 2021}} Politicization of the agency has continued into the Biden administration as COVID-19 guidance is contradicted by State guidance{{cite web |title=New CDC guidance won't end NY mask mandate yet, Cuomo says |url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/05/13/cdc-guidance-mask-mandate-new-york-cuomo/5081053001/ |website=Iohud |access-date=May 15, 2021}} and the agency is criticized as "CDC's credibility is eroding".{{cite web |title='CDC's credibility is eroding' amid conflicting mask guidance, ex-Obama official says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/11/cdcs-credibility-is-eroding-amid-conflicting-mask-guidance-ex-obama-official-says.html |website=CNBC|date=May 12, 2021 |access-date=May 15, 2021}}

In 2021, the CDC, then under the leadership of the Biden administration, received criticism for its mixed messaging surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, mask-wearing guidance, and the state of the pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Chow|first=Denise|date=April 6, 2021|title=CDC's messaging problem highlights pandemic's uncertain future|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/cdcs-messaging-problem-highlights-pandemics-uncertain-future-rcna602|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=NBC News|language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Stanley-Becker |first1=Isaac |last2=Guarino |first2=Ben |last3=Stead Sellers |first3=Frances |last4=Eunjung Cha |first4=Ariana |last5=Sun |first5=Lena H. |title=CDC's mask guidance spurs confusion and criticism, as well as celebration |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/05/14/cdc-mask-update-decision-confusion/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 15, 2021}}

{{See also|Executive Order 14168}}

On February 1, 2025, the CDC ordered its scientists to retract any not yet published research they had produced which included any of the following banned terms: "Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female”. Larry Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Center on Global Health Law, said that the directive amounted to censorship of not only government employees, but private citizens as well. For example, if the lead author of a submitted paper works for the CDC and withdraws their name from the submission, that kills the submission even if coauthors who are private scientists remain on it.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/01/us/trump-tariffs-news/trump-gender-research|title=C.D.C. scientists ordered to withdraw studies that use terms such as 'L.G.B.T.' or 'pregnant people.'|author=Apoorva Mandavilli|publisher=New York Times|date=February 1, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202135959/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/01/us/trump-tariffs-news/trump-gender-research#trump-gender-research|archive-date=February 2, 2025}} Other censored topics include DEI, climate change, and HIV.{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Lauren |last2=Hadar |first2=Roey |last3=Fogle |first3=Harry |title=Many federal websites, data sets go dark following Trump's 'gender ideology' ban |url=https://san.com/cc/many-federal-websites-data-sets-go-dark-following-trumps-gender-ideology-ban/ |website=Straight Arrow News |access-date=February 4, 2025 |date=January 31, 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Pathak |first1=Ria |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/sorry-we-can-t-find-that-page-over-8-000-dei-web-pages-from-dfa-cdc-irs-and-more-go-dark/ar-AA1ynuH5 |website=www.msn.com |access-date=February 4, 2025}}

Following extensive public backlash, some, but not all, of the removed pages were reinstated.{{cite web |last1=Mandavilli |first1=Apoorva |last2=Rabin |first2=Roni Caryn |title=C.D.C. Site Restores Some Purged Files After 'Gender Ideology' Ban Outcry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/health/trump-gender-ideology-research.html |website=The New York Times |date=February 3, 2025}} The CDC's censorship led to many researchers and journalists to preserve databases themselves, with many removed articles being uploaded to archival sites such as the Internet Archive.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Naseem S. |title=Researchers rush to preserve government health data |url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/ |website=The Journalist's Resource |publisher=Harvard Kennedy School |access-date=February 4, 2025 |date=January 31, 2025}}

On February 4, Doctors for America filed a federal lawsuit against the CDC, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services, asking the removed websites to be put back online.{{Cite news |last=Pierson |first=Brendan |date=2025-02-12 |title=US health agencies sued over removal of health data websites |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-health-agencies-sued-over-removal-health-data-websites-2025-02-04/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |work=Reuters}} On February 11, a judge ordered removed pages to be restored temporarily while the suit is being considered, citing doctors who said the removed materials were "vital for real-time clinical decision-making".{{Cite news |last=Pierson |first=Brendan |date=2025-02-12 |title=Trump administration ordered to restore removed CDC and FDA websites |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-administration-ordered-restore-us-health-agency-websites-that-were-2025-02-11/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite news |last=Stolberg |first=Sheryl Gay |date=2025-02-11 |title=Judge Orders CDC to Temporarily Restore Pages Removed After Trump Edict |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/cdc-website-restore-pages-trump.html |access-date=2025-02-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

• CDC publications{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/Publications|title= Publications|publisher=CDC|access-date=October 10, 2012}}
• State of CDC report{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/about/stateofcdc/index.htm|title=CDC Publication Archives |publisher=CDC|access-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304213254/http://www.cdc.gov/about/stateofcdc/index.htm|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}
• CDC Programs in Brief{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/programs|title=Programs in Brief: Home Page|publisher=CDC|access-date=August 10, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718013207/http://www.cdc.gov/programs|archive-date=July 18, 2006}}
• Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr|title=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report|publisher=CDC|access-date=October 10, 2012}}
• Emerging Infectious Diseases (monthly journal){{cite web|url=http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/pages/about.htm|title=About the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal |publisher=CDC|access-date=October 10, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105064444/http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/pages/about.htm |archive-date= November 5, 2012 }}
• Preventing Chronic Disease
• Vital statistics{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm|title=CDC/National Center for Health Statistics|access-date=October 14, 2014}}

On May 16, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's blog published an article instructing the public on what to do to prepare for a zombie invasion. While the article did not claim that such a scenario was possible, it did use the popular culture appeal as a means of urging citizens to prepare for all potential hazards, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods.{{cite web|last=Khan|first=Ali S.|series=CDC Zombie Warning|url=http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2011/05/preparedness-101-zombie-apocalypse|title=Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse|work=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|date=May 16, 2011|access-date=March 8, 2014|archive-date=March 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311064319/http://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2011/05/preparedness-101-zombie-apocalypse/|url-status=dead}}

According to David Daigle, the associate director for communications, public health preparedness and response, the idea arose when his team was discussing their upcoming hurricane-information campaign and Daigle mused that "we say pretty much the same things every year, in the same way, and I just wonder how many people are paying attention." A social-media employee mentioned that the subject of zombies had come up a lot on Twitter when she had been tweeting about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and radiation. The team realized that a campaign like this would most likely reach a different audience from the one that normally pays attention to hurricane-preparedness warnings and went to work on the zombie campaign, launching it right before hurricane season began. "The whole idea was, if you're prepared for a zombie apocalypse, you're prepared for pretty much anything," said Daigle.{{cite web|url=http://www.skepticality.com/centers-zombie-control-prevention|title=Centers for Zombie Control and Prevention|work=Skepticality Podcast|date=October 25, 2011|access-date=March 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225000204/http://www.skepticality.com/centers-zombie-control-prevention/|archive-date=December 25, 2013|url-status=dead}}

Once the blog article was posted, the CDC announced an open contest for YouTube submissions of the most creative and effective videos covering preparedness for a zombie apocalypse (or apocalypse of any kind), to be judged by the "CDC Zombie Task Force". Submissions were open until October 11, 2011.{{cite web|url=http://prepare.challenge.gov|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713171317/http://prepare.challenge.gov/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 13, 2012|title=Are You Prepared? Video Contest|publisher=Prepare.challenge.gov|access-date=April 16, 2012}} They also released a zombie-themed graphic novella available on their website.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies_novella.htm |title=Zombie Novella|Zombie Preparedness|Are We Prepared? |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=April 10, 2015 |access-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729111741/https://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies_novella.htm |archive-date=July 29, 2017 |url-status=dead }} Zombie-themed educational materials for teachers are available on the site.{{cite web|date=April 10, 2015|title=Zombie Preparedness|url=https://www.cdc.gov/phpr/zombies.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809004103/https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/zombie/index.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcpr%2Fzombies.htm|archive-date=August 9, 2021|access-date=December 22, 2021|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

• Gun violence in the United States
• Haddon Matrix
• List of national public health agencies
• Safe Kids Worldwide

• ATSDR – CDC department
• NIOSH – CDC department
• N95 respirator – regulated by NIOSH
• Division of Industrial Hygiene – predecessor to NIOSH

• MSHA – co-regulator of respirators prior to 1998
• Bureau of Mines – predecessor to MSHA
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• OSHA

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{CDC}}

{{refend}}

• {{cite journal |author = Editorial |title = Reviving the US CDC |journal = The Lancet |volume = 395 |issue = 10236 |page = 1521 |date = May 16, 2020 |doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31140-5 |pmid = 32416772 |pmc = 7255307 }}
• {{cite book | last=Etheridge | first=Elizabeth W. | title=Sentinel for Health: A History of the Centers for Disease Control | publisher=University of California Press | publication-place=Berkeley, CA | date=1992 | isbn=978-0-520-07107-0}}
• {{cite book | last=Meyerson | first=Beth E. | last2=Martich | first2=Frederick A. | last3=Naehr | first3=Gerald P. | title=Ready to Go: The History and Contributions of U.S. Public Health Advisors | publisher=American Social Health Association | publication-place=Research Triangle Park, NC | date=2008 | isbn=978-0-615-20383-6 | oclc=244483702 | url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/244483702 | access-date=2025-04-08}}
• {{cite book | last=Stobbe | first=Mike | title=Surgeon General's Warning: How Politics Crippled the Nation's Doctor | publisher=Univ of California Press | publication-place=Berkeley | date=2014 | isbn=978-0-520-27229-3}}

{{Sister project links|auto=yes}}

{{Scholia|organization}}

• {{Official website|https://www.cdc.gov}}
• [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention CDC] in the Federal Register
• [https://www.usaspending.gov/federal_account/075-0943 CDC-Wide Activities and Program Support] account on USAspending.gov
• [https://www.cdc.gov/media/ CDC Online Newsroom]
• [https://phil.cdc.gov/ CDC Public Health Image Library]
• [https://www.cdc.gov/gcc/ CDC Global Communications Center]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080703172216/http://www.labdesignnews.com/LaboratoryDesign/LD0605feat_3.asp CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory – Atlanta, Georgia] (archived July 3, 2008)
• [https://wonder.cdc.gov/ CDC WONDER online databases].
• [https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/83615/cdc_83615_DS1.pdf Vaccine Safety Monitoring Systems and Methods (CDC) a slide deck presented at October 2019 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting]

{{Navboxes|list=

{{HHS agencies}}

{{Bioterrorism}}

{{Public health}}

{{Druid Hills}}

{{United States government agencies involved in environmental science}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Portal bar|United States|Medicine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centers For Disease Control And Prevention}}

Category:1946 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Biosafety level 4 laboratories

Category:Government agencies established in 1946

Category:Medical and health organizations based in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Medical research institutes in the United States

Category:Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Georgia

Category:Buildings and structures in Atlanta

Category:Organizations based in Atlanta

Category:Organizations based in DeKalb County, Georgia

Category:Government health agencies