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May 19, 2026
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response to the recent hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship reflects “the atrophy of American public health,” according to a new Milbank Quarterly Opinion by Lawrence O. Gostin of Georgetown University and the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights.
Gostin observes that the CDC did not engage with global partners early in the outbreak. Moreover, its delayed response was disjointed, leading to disparate state-level responses. These operational failures, he says, are the result of Trump administration’s divestment in the agency and its withdrawal from the WHO. Many of his findings are underscored by the even more recent Ebola outbreak.
Gostin recommends several steps that the administration can take to restore American public health and protect national security. “Unless we move to restore the CDC’s independence, funding, and international standing, we will remain a nation that is deeply vulnerable,” Gostin says.
