The first Black woman to lead the CDC will face an uphill battle in restoring trust

Dr. Erica Schwartz has been confirmed by the Senate as the first Black woman to lead the CDC, pledging what she calls radical transparency and unwavering scientific integrity. The 19th reports she takes over an agency without a permanent director for nearly a year, following the ouster of her predecessor, Susan Monarez, who says she was fired for refusing to prematurely approve vaccine policy changes. Schwartz, a Navy veteran with a background as deputy surgeon general and Coast Guard chief medical officer, told senators mRNA vaccine technology is safe and effective, even as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., her new boss, has moved to cut federal funding for that research. She now inherits a CDC contending with a measles outbreak, a rising parasitic infection, and deep staff cuts, as she tries to hold the confidence of both the scientific community and the political administration that nominated her.

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