Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

The CDC works to protect public health and safety by controlling and preventing disease, injury, and disability. It focuses on important areas like infectious diseases, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, and injury prevention. The CDC also looks at non-infectious diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

History

See also: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention timeline

Establishment

The Communicable Disease Center began on July 1, 1946, as part of the World War II Malaria Control in War Areas program.

Before this, groups like the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation helped fight malaria. The new group was part of the U.S. Public Health Service, and Atlanta was chosen because malaria was common there. The group later changed its name to the Communicable Disease Center.

It started with a budget of about $1 million and 369 workers. Its early focus was on mosquito control to stop malaria. Many homes were sprayed with DDT. There were only seven medical officers at first. The CDC grew under Joseph Walter Mountin to cover more communicable diseases.

In 1947, the CDC paid $10 to Emory University for land on Clifton Road, where its headquarters still are. The land was given by Robert W. Woodruff, chairman of the board of the Coca-Cola Company, who had a long interest in malaria control. The same year, the CDC took over a plague laboratory and started a Veterinary Diseases Division.

The CDC took over the Tuskegee syphilis experiment from the U.S. Public Health Service. The study lasted from 1932 to 1972 and watched men with the disease without treating them. The men had not agreed to be in the study.

Growth

In 1951, warnings about possible dangers during the Korean War led to the creation of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), a two-year training program. This led to the Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETP) in 1980, which trained thousands of disease experts in many countries.

The CDC's mission grew to include more diseases. In 1957, parts of the U.S. Public Health Service were transferred to the CDC. Tuberculosis Control and the Immunization program were added later.

It became the National Communicable Disease Center in 1967 and the Center for Disease Control in 1970. By the end of the 1970s, it became a main part of the Public Health Service.

1980–2018

The organization was renamed the Centers for Disease Control in 1980. By 1990, it had four centers: the Center for Infectious Diseases, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, and the Center for Prevention Services. It also took in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Center for Health Statistics.

Congress added the words "and Prevention" to the name in 1992. The CDC's focus widened to include long-term health problems, injury prevention, workplace hazards, environmental health threats, and readiness for attacks. The CDC fights new diseases and health risks, including problems with birth development, West Nile virus, weight problems, avian, swine, and flu from animals.

In 1992, a group started the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. They worked on stopping deaths from guns. In 1996, a law was passed that said the CDC could not use money to support or promote gun control.

In 2005, the CDC reorganized to deal with health threats of the 21st century. In 2009, this change was removed.

In 2011, the CDC shared a blog post about being ready for a pretend attack using a popular idea to encourage people to prepare for real dangers like earthquakes and storms. They held a contest on YouTube for videos about being ready for any world-ending event.

In 2013, the CDC had special labs for dangerous diseases, including one of only two stores of smallpox in the world. In 2014, they found lost samples of smallpox and might have been exposed to anthrax.

In 2018, the city of Atlanta took over the CDC headquarters property.

COVID-19

See also: Trump administration communication during the COVID-19 pandemic § Testing

The CDC dealt with the COVID-19 disease and made some mistakes. The first proven case in the U.S. was found in January 2020, but wide testing stopped until February 2020. The CDC's early test did not work well, and it took three weeks to fix it.

In May 2020, the CDC mixed up results of two kinds of coronavirus tests. In July 2020, the Trump administration told hospitals to send COVID-19 information to a different database. The CDC took down COVID-19 information from its website for a short time.

In August 2020, the CDC said people without COVID-19 signs did not need testing. This changed after public discussion. In September 2020, the CDC planned to require masks on public travel, but the White House stopped this.

In October 2020, it was found that White House helpers changed CDC scientists' writings about COVID-19 many times. Before Thanksgiving 2020, the CDC suggested not traveling for the holiday.

In May 2021, the CDC said COVID-19 can spread through the air. In December 2021, the CDC shortened the time away from others for people with COVID-19 from 10 days to five.

Until 2022, the CDC held back important information about COVID-19 vaccine boosters and hospitalizations.

On June 10, 2022, the Biden Administration told the CDC to end the COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report changes

During the disease, the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) was pushed to change its sharing by political workers. They tried to stop or change shares about treatments for COVID-19 and how easy the virus spreads.

Trust in the CDC after COVID-19

Trust in the CDC fell during COVID-19. By January 2022, only 44% of Americans trusted the CDC, compared to 69% at the start of the disease. This drop in trust caused "vaccine uncertainty".

In 2021, the CDC under the Biden administration faced talks about its mixed messages about COVID-19 vaccines and masks.

On August 17, 2022, the CDC director said the CDC would make big changes after mistakes during the COVID-19 disease.

Second Trump administration

In January 2025, a CDC official told staff to stop working with the World Health Organization. In January 2025, some CDC websites about HIV, LGBT, and young people health were stopped.

In February 2025, the CDC told scientists to take back research that included certain words like "Gender, transgender, pregnant person, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female".

On February 4, 2025, a court told the CDC to put stopped pages back online for a short time. On February 14, 2025, about 1,300 CDC workers were let go, including all first-year officers of the Epidemic Intelligence Service.

In August 2025, over 600 CDC workers were let go and some programs ended, including maternal and child health services and the CDC's Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys.

2025 headquarters shooting

On August 8, 2025, Patrick Joseph White attacked the CDC's Roybal Campus. He tried to get in but was stopped. He then drove to a CVS Pharmacy and shot at the campus, hitting four buildings. A police officer was hurt. White was found dead from a self-inflicted shot. He was believed to be motivated by not trusting vaccines.

2025 advisory committee purge and leadership dispute

In May 2025, the HHS Secretary said a lawyer was acting CDC director. In June 2025, all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were fired and replaced with people who do not agree with vaccines.

Susan Monarez was chosen as CDC head but was let go after saying she would not agree to suggestions from ACIP. Several important CDC workers left after this.

In November 2025, research on monkeys at CDC was due to end.

Organization

Main article: Organization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has many parts that work on different health topics. These parts help people stay healthy, like during flu season or when studying diseases from animals.

As of February 2023, the CDC includes groups like the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, among others.

Most CDC offices are in the Atlanta area, Georgia, with three main campuses: Chamblee, Roybal, and Lawrenceville. Some centers also have offices in other U.S. places, like Maryland, Colorado, and Washington, D.C.

Budget

The CDC had a budget of $11.581 billion for 2024. This money helps the CDC keep people healthy and safe.

Workforce

As of 2021, the CDC had about 15,000 workers. These included 6,000 workers with specific jobs and 840 officers in the United States Public Health Service. Most of these workers had at least a bachelor's degree, and nearly half had advanced degrees.

Some common jobs at the CDC include engineer, entomologist, epidemiologist, biologist, physician, veterinarian, behavioral scientist, nurse, medical technologist, economist, public health advisor, health communicator, toxicologist, chemist, computer scientist, and statistician. The CDC also offers special training programs.

Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS)

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) helps solve public health problems in the United States and around the world. EIS officers are called in to help during disease outbreaks and give expert advice on how to stop them.

Public Health Associates Program

The CDC runs the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP). This is a two-year paid training program for recent college graduates. The program helps new graduates find jobs in public health across the United States.

Leadership

The director of the CDC is chosen by leaders in the government. The director works for the president and can be asked to leave at any time. The CDC director also leads another agency that deals with harmful substances and health problems.

Before January 20, 2025, the CDC director could be chosen in different ways. Sometimes a long-term employee was chosen, and sometimes someone was chosen for political reasons without needing government approval. This changed because of a law passed in 2023.

Many leaders have served as the director of the CDC or its earlier agencies. Some served during different times of leadership in the country.

List of directors

The following people have served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or chief of the Communicable Disease Center):

Datasets and survey systems

The CDC collects health information to help keep people safe. It uses many tools to gather data, like telephone surveys and special health checks. These tools track health habits, pregnancy health, and medical records.

Recently, some of the CDC’s databases stopped getting updated regularly. This means that important health information, like details about vaccines and certain diseases, was not always current. This change happened when new leaders joined the department that oversees the CDC. Because of this, some states and medical groups have started to share health information themselves to fill the gap.

Areas of focus

The CDC works on many important health topics to help keep people safe. It studies over 400 diseases and health threats that can make people sick or even cause death. You can find information on the CDC website about diseases like smallpox and measles.

The CDC focuses on stopping diseases like influenza, including special efforts for types such as H1N1. It also has programs to protect against rare and dangerous substances, such as anthrax and the Ebola virus.

The CDC also looks at health problems that aren’t caused by infections, like those related to obesity. It works globally with groups like the World Health Organization to help stop diseases from spreading around the world. The CDC offers health advice for travelers, including a book called the “yellow book” with tips for staying healthy in different travel destinations.

The CDC monitors vaccine safety using tools like the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and works with healthcare organizations to share data about vaccine safety. It also has a program called V-safe, a smartphone app that checks in with people after they get a COVID-19 vaccine to see how they’re feeling.

CDC Foundation

The CDC Foundation is a private, nonprofit group that supports the CDC’s work. It works with many groups, such as businesses, schools, and individuals. Since 1995, it has helped start over 1,200 health programs and raised more than $1.6 billion.

The foundation works on health projects in over 160 countries. Some of these projects help people with heart disease, cancer, emergencies, and infections like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, rotavirus, and COVID-19.

One special program, called EmPOWERED Health, began in 2019 with help from Amgen. It helps cancer patients make choices about their treatments. The foundation also gives out an annual prize called the Fries Prize for Improving Health, which started in 1992 to honor people who have done great work in improving health for many.

Publications

The CDC shares important health news through many publications. Some of these include reports and journals like the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Preventing Chronic Disease. They also share updates through the State of CDC report and CDC Programs in Brief, along with vital statistics. These resources help people learn about staying healthy.