Acting CDC Director Bhattacharya addresses staff at all-hands meeting

Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on Signal at hbranswell.01.

On Wednesday, staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened with the anticipation of hearing the Trump administration’s decision on a new leader for the struggling agency.

However, acting Director Jay Bhattacharya informed them that the nomination of a permanent director was expected by Thursday.

A transcript from the over-hour-long all-hands meeting, accessed by STAT, showed Bhattacharya faced challenging inquiries. While he gained approval for supporting measles vaccination, his stance on other matters was less clear. His defense of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who he described as a friend and claimed was misrepresented by the media, was met with some audible dissatisfaction, according to a source in the room.