Policy

Robert Redfield tapped as CDC director, but people haven’t forgotten his controversial background

After former CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald resigned earlier this year, Dr. Robert Redfield was chosen for the position on March 21. But his appointment is marred by reports about his controversial research background.

Paper made silhouettes with one of them of orange color to stand out from the rest

On Wednesday, the Trump administration selected Dr. Robert Redfield as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The position doesn’t require Senate confirmation.

He previously was the chief of infectious diseases and vice chair of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Additionally, he cofounded the University of Maryland’s Institute of Human Virology. Redfield was also the founding director of the department of retroviral research in the military’s HIV Research Program.

His appointment comes after former director Brenda Fitzgerald resigned earlier this year. She stepped down amidst a Politico report that she invested in Japan Tobacco, as well as Merck, Bayer and Humana. Fitzgerald held the position at the CDC for less than a year.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar commented on the latest news in a statement:

Dr. Redfield has dedicated his entire life to promoting public health and providing compassionate care to his patients, and we are proud to welcome him as director of the world’s premier epidemiological agency. Dr. Redfield’s clinical background is peerless: As just one example, during his two-decade tenure at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, he made pioneering contributions to advance our understanding of HIV/AIDS.

Despite calling Redfield’s medical experience “peerless,” what Azar failed to mention is the controversy surrounding the new director’s tenure in the military.

In 1994, the Army admitted there were accuracy issues regarding HIV vaccine clinical trials spearheaded by Redfield, Kaiser Health News reported earlier this week. The military ultimately decided the data-related mistakes didn’t qualify as misconduct, but an investigation did lead to a correction in published data, according to the The New York Times.

Though more than 20 years ago, this aspect of his background hasn’t been forgotten.

On March 19, Senator Patty Murray sent a letter to President Trump urging him not to select Redfield as CDC director. In addition to mentioning the Army’s investigation, she wrote that she is “concerned by Dr. Redfield’s lack of public health expertise and his failure to embrace the science underscoring critical public health work.”

Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, also advised the administration not to pick Redfield. In a statement on March 21, Lurie said such a designation “would be disastrous.”

“First, he has no experience running a public health agency, and does not have the all-important relationships with state and local public health officials such experience would bring,” he added.

It will be interesting to watch how the freshly minted Redfield will handle his role as well as the controversy around his appointment.

Photo: FotografiaBasica, Getty Images

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