Milken Institute19 min
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Erica Schwartz | Future of Health Summit 2026
Interview, Fireside Chat
- The Pan American Health Organization is scheduled to determine within the next week whether the United States loses measles elimination status, a status that will not be lost based on single-day case counts like 30,000 but could be at risk if an outbreak persists for longer than 12 months regardless of volume.
- Measles cases are rapidly increasing, with a demographic distribution of 17% under five, 42% between five and 19, and 41-42% over 19 years of age, concentrated in close-knit communities with low vaccination rates.
- To address the outbreak, the CDC has deployed over $100 million to states since the outbreak began, providing on-the-ground assistance, thousands of vaccinations, and laboratory support including genomic sequencing and surveillance.
- A two-pronged strategy will be employed with state agencies leading efforts to encourage vaccination among eligible populations, while simultaneously preparing protocols for communities that refuse vaccination to ensure understanding of the disease, identification methods, and isolation procedures to prevent family transmission.
- Secretary Kennedy will speak tomorrow regarding the MMR vaccine as the primary prevention method, while daily meetings at 10 a.m. will be held to make decisions based on diverse opinions and evidence without delay.
- Internal trust and stability are prioritized through the hiring of permanent leadership for CIOs, with a strategic hiring plan involving CDC staff input expected to go into action in 2027, alongside evaluations of force extenders and the epidemic intelligence officer program to expand the workforce of over 10,000 employees.
- The Director aims to restore trust with the American public and CDC staff through humility, transparency, and by creating a 21st-century CDC focused on innovation, including bio-threat radar, wastewater surveillance, and metagenomics.
- Future preparedness includes the CDC's Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics developing a surveillance tool to view respiratory virus trends by zip code, amidst rising influenza cases, decreasing COVID-19 cases, and RSV at an all-time low.
- Regulatory and advisory functions are being reset, with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reconstituted following an appellate court ruling that permits a federal register notice for new members, with a final decision pending court clarity on the nine existing members and the designation of new members by a Designated Federal Official.
- The report from the task force on safer childhood vaccines, originally due November 8, is currently undergoing clearance before being submitted to the reconstituted ACIP for consideration.
- Globally, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo presents a 48% case fatality rate crisis, though contact tracing has improved to approximately 25 contacts per case, with the EOC monitoring daily situation reports in hopes of flattening the case curve.
- Legislative engagement is planned with the Congressional Doctors Caucus and new public health leaders in Congress to find bipartisan common ground, while the new chief of staff, Stephen Miller, is a contact the speaker has not yet met.