RFK Jr. must reform CDC to fight killer hospital fungus

A deadly fungus is spreading like crazy across the United States, sickening and killing hospital patients — and the federal response has been ineffectual at best.  It’s been found in 29 states since 2016, including New York, and the increase in affected patients is soaring year by year, the American Journal of Infection Control has found.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the drug-resistant Candida auris fungus an  “urgent” threat, but talk is cheap.The agency is largely to blame for its rapid spread.  It’s a textbook example of a federal agency crying out for the Trump administration’s reform. A shockingly high number of those who contract this hospital-based germ — between 30% and 60% — die.  To put that in perspective, the case fatality rate of COVID-19 is 1.1%.In 2024, the CDC reported 4,514 cases of C.

auris infection in patients of all ages — nine times larger than that seen in the measles outbreak that has drawn significant public concern.Leftists are moaning that HHS Secretary Robert F.Kennedy Jr.’s Tuesday job cuts, which included 2,400 CDC staffers, will imperil our health.Nonsense: The agency, more fittingly called the Centers for Disaster and Confusion, has fallen far short of its core mission of stopping the spread of contagious diseases.But by fighting this dangerous new infection, Kennedy can get the agency back on track.Here’s your to-do list, Mr. Secretary: Prioritize health over political correctness, opt for transparency over secrecy, and deploy new technologies.First, put a stop to woke distractions.In 2021, while C.

auris cases soared by 500%, the CDC was busy scolding health-care workers about gender-specific terms like “mother” and “father” and stigmatizing words like “smoker” and “prisoner.”   Ridiculous. Cutting the CDC’s language police won’t harm our health a bit.Next, provide transparency.Not just price transparency, Republicans’ favorite cure-all, but ...