The Administrations catch all solution, more money and more government.
Via Reuters
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to hire a chief of laboratory safety, a new post that has taken on more urgency after a CDC scientist was possibly exposed to Ebola in a laboratory last week.
Creating a new high-level safety position was a key recommendation of a months-long internal investigation into the mishandling of anthrax and bird flu in CDC labs this past summer, according to an internal CDC memo obtained by Reuters.
Those incidents called into question safety practices at more than 1,000 laboratory and support facilities across the CDC’s sprawling network of scientists.
CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds confirmed that a search for an agencywide chief of laboratory science and safety was under way. The search, which has not been previously reported, is being led by Dr. Rima Khabbaz, director of CDC’s Office of Infectious Diseases.
“The person selected will be empowered to identify problems, establish plans to solve them, and hold programs throughout CDC accountable for follow-up,” Reynolds said in an email.
Private laboratories that work closely with the CDC welcomed the move.[…]
In a congressional hearing last summer, angry U.S. lawmakers faulted a “dangerous pattern” of safety lapses at government laboratories handling deadly pathogens and called for an overhaul of controls at the CDC. Lawmakers were openly critical of Frieden but stopped short of calling for his resignation.
In July, Frieden closed the two labs responsible for the release of pathogens over the summer and named CDC scientist Dr. Michael Bell to review lab protocols before they could reopen. Bell has since completed the review and returned to his former post, according to the memo obtained by Reuters.
Frieden has tapped Dr. Leslie Dauphin, a CDC microbiologist, to oversee lab safety until the position is permanently filled.