Trump's former COVID adviser: US equipped to handle response to Ebola outbreak
Key takeaways
- Is the U.S. prepared to deal with an outbreak of Ebola or any other infectious disease, if it comes to our shores?
- I think it s a great question and watching how this plays out will be very important.
- And so, yes, it s important to have the leads of all of these agencies.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
The U.S. right now does not have a confirmed head of the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)], it does not have a confirmed head of the [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)], doesn t have a confirmed Surgeon General. Is the U.S. prepared to deal with an outbreak of Ebola or any other infectious disease, if it comes to our shores? CBS News s Nancy Cordes asked Dr. Deborah Birx on Face the Nation.
I think it s a great question and watching how this plays out will be very important. And I m watching that. They ve already created an interagency Ebola response task force, and just to reassure the American public, I was in the federal government for 40-plus years and in the military for 29, there s a deep bench, Birx, a former White House coronavirus response coordinator during Trump s first term, told Cordes.
And so, yes, it s important to have the leads of all of these agencies. I think people have been nominated to at least the CDC, so, I think that s very important. But we do have a deep bench in many of these agencies, and I really, I know them, they re great people, she added.