Open Letter by Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers — Past and Present — in Support of CDC

We, the undersigned, are physicians, nurses, scientists, and other health professionals who are alumnae/i or current Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are proud of our training and service in the EIS, promoting CDC’s vital mission to protect the health of the American people.

We hereby express our concern about the ominous politicization and silencing of the nation’s health protection agency during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In previous public health crises, CDC provided the best available information and straightforward recommendations directly to the public. It was widely respected for effectively synthesizing and applying scientific evidence from epidemiologists and biomedical researchers at CDC and worldwide. Its historic credibility was based on incomparable expertise and 70+ years of institutional memory. That focus and organization is hardly recognizable today.

The absence of national leadership on COVID-19 is unprecedented and dangerous. The US epidemic is sustained by deadly chains of transmission that crisscross the entire country. Yet states and territories have been left to invent their own differing systems for defining, diagnosing and reporting cases of this highly contagious disease. Inconsistent contact tracing efforts are confined within each state’s borders — while coronavirus infections sadly are not. Such chaos is what CDC customarily avoided by its long history of collaboration with state and local health authorities in developing national systems for disease surveillance and coordinated control.

When this open letter was written, the COVID-19 death toll surpassed 100,000 in the US and 250,000 in all other countries combined. The devastation continues with an end not yet in sight. CDC should be at the forefront of a successful response to this global public health emergency. We urgently call upon the American people to demand and our nation’s leaders to allow CDC to resume its indispensable role.

Signed,

Class of 1951 (n=3): Henry R Shinefield, J Thomas Grayston, Jeramiah A. Barondess; Class of 1952 (n=2): Charles F Federspiel, Harold W. Black; Class of 1954 (n=1): Calvin Kunin; Class of 1955 (n=2): Neal Nathanson, Norman Petersen; Class of 1956 (n=2): Alfonse T Masi, Lauri David Thrupp; Class of 1957 (n=2): Stanley A Plotkin, Stephen J Seligman; Class of 1958 (n=1): André J Nahmias; Class of 1959 (n=3): Alvin Novack, David Schottenfeld; Class of 1960 (n=4): Clark W. Heath, Jr., James Maynard, Lawrence S Cohen, William Elsea; Class of 1961 (n=4): David Rush, Jesse C Arnold, Robert Scholtens, Wiley Mosley; Class of 1962 (n=1): Peter Greenwald; Class of 1963 (n=7): Antone A Medeiros, Arnold Kaufmann, David M Reisler, Morton A Levy, Nicholas H.Wright, Pierce Gardner, Ron Levine; Class of 1964 (n=10): Beryl J. Rosenstein, Eugene J Gangarosa, Eugene R Schiff, George Miller, James L Gale, Joshua Fierer, Read McGehee, Thomas M. Mack, W Michael Cross; Class of 1965 (n=7): Alan Hinman, Alan Leviton, Albert R. Martin, Gordon T. Moore, J. Lyle Conrad, Ralph H. Henderson, Sanford “Ben” Werner; Class of 1966 (n=12): Adolf W. Karchmer, Cyrus Hopkins, Edward Shmunes, F Marc LaForce, Marc Gurwith, Noah Klein, Robert J Latta, Robert S. Lawrence, Sheldon Greenfield, Steven A. Schroeder, Thomas Vernon, William Schaffner; Class of 1967 (n=15): Burton Golub, David W Vastine, F. Douglas Scutchfield, Glenn Haughie, Herbert DuPont, Joel L Nitzkin, Joel P Friedman, John P. Burke, Kenneth Quickel, Lawrence P Levitt, Michael C. Sinclair, Ronald W O’Connor, Stephen C Schoenbaum, Thomas C Cesario, Thomas C Shope; Class of 1968 (n=9): Barth Reller, Benedict Archer, David R. Perera, Godfrey Oakley, John A Bryan, Richard Rothenberg, Robert L. Owen, Roger Rochat, Spotswood L. Spruance; Class of 1969 (n=16): Allen Peters, Arthur Dover, Bernhoff A Dahl, Dennis G Maki, Edgar K Marcuse, James B. Kahn, John McGowan, Marshall D. Fox, Michael W Rosen, Paul A. Blake, Philip D. Darney, Robert J. Melton, Ronald Hattis, Russell W. Currier, T. Stephen Jones, Warner Tillack; Class of 1970 (n=13): Andrew T Taylor, Claude T.H. Friedmann, Dennis O’Connor, Douglas H. Huber, Franklyn N. Judson, George Jackson, Gerald Faich, Jeffrey Rosenstock, Lawrence E. Klock, Paul M Redstone, Philip J. Landrigan, Stephen Gehlbach, Steven H. Lamm; Class of 1971 (n=9): Frederick Trowbridge, Gary S Berger, James Lindsey, Michael A. Gross, Paul L Steer, Philip C. Craven, Richard A. Kaslow, Roscoe M Moore Jr, Stanley Music; Class of 1972 (n=9): Bernard Guyer, Cary L Young, David Rimland, Henry Kahn, James S. Koopman, Jeffrey Koplan, Kenneth M. Boyer, Sankey Williams; Class of 1973 (n=16): Barry Levy, C. Fordham von Reyn, Cornelis Kolff, David S. Pratt, Frederick Connell, Jack Nissim, James M. Hughes, Jason Weisfeld, John R. Burk, Joseph B. McCormick, Robert J. Biggar, Robert L. Rosenberg, Robert Maulitz, Robert W. Haley, Winthrop A. Burr, Wynn H. Hemmert; Class of 1974 (n=18): Alan G. Barbour, Andrew G Dean, Charles Hoke, Dennis Schaberg, Edward L. Baker, Grace Emori-Elder, Grayson B. Miller, Jr., Jay A. Jacobson, John c harris, Kenneth E Powell, Marcus A. Horwitz, Mark L. Rosenberg, Mary Guinan, Michael R Jennings, Morris Potter, Peter K. Shaw, Steven Solter, Walter Orenstein; Class of 1975 (n=14): Douglas M Shasby, Gregory A Filice, Gregory Hayden, Harold S. Margolis, James W Stratton, Joel Greenspan, John Middaugh, Mark Oberle, Neal Halsey, Philip J Rettig, Richard J Jackson, Richard OBrien, Steve Englender, William Halperin; Class of 1976 (n=18): Brian J. McCarthy, Cathryn L Samples, Charles F. Lovell, Jr., Dale L. Morse, David L. Heymann, David M Morens, Diana Petitti, Gregory Storch, Henry Retailliau, Joel G Breman, Joel I Ward, Marshall F. Goldberg, Mitchell Cohen, Philip Graitcer, Philip R Taylor, Robert Gunn, Thomas M. Hooton, William Terranova; Class of 1977 (n=19): Alan Engelberg, Ann M Kimball, Charles E. Haley, Claire Broome, David B Nelson, Harold Huntley Hardison, Herbert W Clegg, José G. Rigau, Julian Gold, Larry Anderson, Lawrence J. D’Angelo, Marc Filstein, Randall Reves, Richard Hopkins, Richard Vogt, Stephen C. Hadler, Steven Teutsch, Wesley Earl Jones, William D Goldman; Class of 1978 (n=12): Albert C. England III, Andrew A Vernon, Dorine G. Kramer, Jeffrey D Band, Karen Starko, Mark W. Kehrberg, Patrick A. Robinson, Richard E Hoffman, Roger Bernier, Thad Woodard, William N Hall; Class of 1979 (n=11): Arthur Reingold, J. Glenn Morris, Jr., John M. Kobayashi, Marie R Griffin, Mark A.Kane, Martin J Blaser, Mitchell Carl, Paul Bartlett, Peter Katona, Ron Waldman, William Heyward; Class of 1980 (n=13): Alan B Bloch, Charles Ryan, Loreen A. Herwaldt, Nancy Binkin, Stephen L Hines, Stephen Sepe, Steven D Helgerson, Steven Wassilak, Anonymous (n=5); Class of 1981 (n=25): Bess Miller, Bruce S. Klein, Carol Tacket, George T DiFerdinando Jr, Harold W. Jaffe, Harry W. Haverkos, Ira Schwartz, Jai Narain, Jeffrey R Harris, Joe Mulinare, Joel Kuritsky, Kathleen Gensheimer, Kevin O’Reilly, Lee W Riley, Lorence T Kircher, Martha Rogers, Michael D. Malison, Michael J Hodgson, Miriam Alter, Nancy C. Lee, Pauline Thomas, Robert Berry, Steven L Solomon, Suzanne R Jenkins, Wallace Alward; Class of 1982 (n=19): Barry P Chaiken, David McAuley, Edith R. Welty, Edith Welty, Frank Richards, George W. Rutherford, Gib Parrish, Gordon Smith, Kyle Steenland, Laurene Mascola, Lawrence D. Budnick, Mark Finch, Patrick Remington, Paul A Stehr-Green, Paul Garbe, Rand Stoneburner, Robert Gaynes, Stephen Cochi, Thomas Welty; Class of 1983 (n=16): Adele Franks, Cynthia J. Berg, David Fleming, David T. Dennis, Kenneth Castro, Kristine Moore (aka Kristine MacDonald), Marguerite Pappaioanou, Marta Gwinn, Millicent Eidson, Nancy Stroup, Paul Seligman, Peter D Lichty, Richard Ehrenberg, Rob McConnell, Robert P. Wise; Class of 1984 (n=46): Alan M Rauch, Alvaro Garza, Andrew Ghio, Charles Guest, Charles Rabkin, Charles Woernle, David L. Parker, Donald Forthal, Emily Harris, Francois Dabis, Gary Goldbaum, Gene A. McGrady, George Kent, Helene Gayle, Henry D Kalter, Janet Arrowsmith, Jeanette K. Stehr-Green, John S. Spika, John Weems, Lawrence L Sanders, Leroy Hathcock, Lucy Davidson, Michael Linnan, Michael O’Leary, Michael O’Malley, Richard Pacer, Robert Anda, Robert Palmer, Rubina Imtiaz, Ruth Sechena, Scott F Wetterhall, Stan Becker, Thomas E. Novotny, Thomas Horiagon, Thomas Török, William Brinton, William M Sappenfield, Anonymous (n=9); Class of 1985 (n=29): Anne Fidler, Consuelo M. Beck-Sague, David Addiss, David F. Williamson, David M. Allen, Edmond Maes, Gregory W. Heath, Gus Birkhead, Jonathan Zenilman, Jose E Becerra, L. Duncan Saunders, Laurence Fuortes, Leigh A Sawyer, Patrick O’Carroll, Perry Smith, Peter R Kerndt, Ray Yip, Robert Barnes, Robin Biellik, Ronald C. Hershow, Ruth A. Etzel, Thomas B. Cole, Thomas R. O’Brien, Thomas Sinks, W. Gary Hlady, Wendy Nelson, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 1986 (n=10): Andrew Pavia, Bernard L Nahlen, Edward Telzak, Karl Klontz, Katrina Hedberg, Mei-Shang Ho, Randall Crom, Thomas Hales, Thomas Matte, Victoria Wells-Wulsin; Class of 1987 (n=27): Audrey Saftlas, Bernard Moriniere, Bradley Hersh, Bradley A Woodruff, C. Robert Horsburgh, Jr., Charles Oke, Douglas L Hatch, Edwin Trevathan, Fern R. Hauck, Harold Lentzner, Irene R Mirkin, Jay Wenger, Jessie Wing, Jou-Fang Deng, Julie Parsonnet, Karen M. Kaplan, Larry Slutsker, Michael Beller, Patrick Moore, Ralph T. Bryan, Richard J.Driscoll, Robert Breiman, Roland W Sutter, Sandy Schwarcz, Stephanie Ostrowski, Thomas T Gilbert; Class of 1988 (n=21): Adelisa L Panlilio, Anthony Suruda, Boris D. Lushniak, Christine M. Branche, Dale Nordenberg, David R. Johnson, Edward Belongia, Herschel Lawson, Jean-Claude Desenclos, Jeanne M McDermott, John S. Moran, Kirsten Waller, Leslie Swygert, Peter Houck, Sherry Baron, Susan Burt, Timothy Mastro, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 1989 (n=21): Bob Brewer, Brad Perkins, Bruce Bernard, Dan Peterson, Ephraim Back, Eric Mintz, Francis X. Riedo, James A Zingeser, Judy F. Lew, Mary Lou Lindegren, Mary Louise Kamb, Matthew McKenna, Michael Montopoli, Patricia Schnitzer, Peter Strebel, Robert Froehlke, Steven B Auerbach, Timothy R Cote, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 1990 (n=12): Carol Rubin, Caryn Bern, Catherine Janes Staes, Gregg C Sylvester, James Cheek, Joanna Buffington, Paul Simon, Philip Huang, Robert Quick, Tom Frieden, Yvonne Boudreau; Class of 1991 (n=16): Ali S Khan, Anthony A Marfin, Aubrey Miller, Brent Burkholder, Denise Koo, Douglas Hamilton, Elias Durry, James Anthony Gaudino, Jr, Ken Zangwill, Linda S Lewis, Stefan Wiktor, Stephanie Zaza, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 1992 (n=15): Alden Henderson, Beth P Bell, Craig B Dalton, David R. Arday, Francoise F Hamers, Jeff Duchin, Jordan W Tappero, Kathryn E. Arnold, Les Roberts, Mark A Miller, Nikki Baumrind, Peter N. Wenger, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 1993 (n=26): Alfredo E. Vergara, Andre Weltman, Cynthia G. Whitney, Dalya Guris, David Espey, David W. Keller, Elizabeth Conlisk, Guillermo Herrera Taracena, Isabella Danel, Jane Harman, Jo Hofmann, Kathryn Kirkland, Lisa Danzig, Mathew Reeves, Peter S Millard, Rita Washko, Roberta A Duhaime, Scott F Dowell, Scott Fridkin, Scott L. Tomar, Sharon McDonnell, Anonymous (n=5); Class of 1994 (n=15): Barbara L. Massoudi, Barbara Mahon, Craig Conover, Eduardo Montana, Judith M. Moore, Lorraine Backer, Maria Pia Sanchez, Mark Dworkin, Mary E. Brown, Orin Levine, Patrick LF Zuber, Rosalind Carter, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 1995 (n=14): Ann R. Thomas, Charles Wells, Chris Van Beneden, Eric Mouzin, Jenifer Lloyd, Lennox K. Archibald, Michael Landen, Minda Weldon, Nkuchia M’ikanatha, Rob Lyerla, Sara L Huston, Seong-Kyu Kang, Anonymous (n=2); Class of 1996 (n=16): Akiko C Kimura, Cindy M. Weinbaum, Elizabeth Adams, Holly Ann Williams, Jim Lando, Linda Han, Mark D. Macek, Matthew Kuehnert, Rodrigo Villar, Roger Shapiro, Sara H. Cody, Shahin Lockman, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 1997 (n=23): Adam Karpati, Denise J. Jamieson, Douglas T Fleming, Elena Page, Emily B Kahn, Hiroshi Takahashi, Juan Alonso-Echanove, Kayla F Laserson, Kieran J. Fogarty, Kyran Quinlan, Laurie Kamimoto, Mayur M. Desai, Naomi Burr, Nino Khetsuriani, Pauli N. Amornkul, Richard S. Garfein, Rosemary Duffy, Udo Buchholz, Anonymous (n=5); Class of 1998 (n=19): Alan H Ramsey, Bryce W. Furness, Ellen Steinberg, Gérard Krause, Jairam R. Lingappa, Julia Samuelson, Julie Jacobson, Julie Magri, Kata Chillag, Mary Ellen Simpson, Megan Davies, Montse Soriano-Gabarro, Sophia Wang, Stephanie L. Sansom, Virginia Roth, Willie J. Parker, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 1999 (n=17): Amy J Khan, Annette Sohn, Bruno Coignard, Denis Nash, Diana Bensyl, Elizabeth Bancroft, Josefa Rangel, Kristy Murray, Melinda Wilkins, Sarah Lathrop, Silvia Teran, Sumathi Sivapalasingam, Wolfgang Hladik, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 2000 (n=17): Amita Gupta, Beth C Tohill, Brent Lee, Debra M Feldman, Dennis Kim, Els Mathieu, Gaston Djomand, Kathleen D. Askland, Kevin L. Winthrop, Lorna E. Thorpe, Pia MacDonald, Rachel Bronzan, Sara Whitehead, Sharon E.Durousseau, Susan Wootton, Anonymous (n=2); Class of 2001 (n=23): Alicia Cronquist, Bhrett Lash, Dara Spatz Friedman, Joseph L. Malone, Joshua D. Jones, Kelly Moore, Kenneth Hilsbos, Kevin Griffith, Kristina Zierold, Laura N. Broyles, Lisa Pealer, Nicole Smith, Padmini Srikantiah, Pauline Terebuh, Stephanie Noviello, William Wong, Anonymous (n=7); Class of 2002 (n=15): Dawn Comstock, E. Claire Newbern, Karen D. Cowgill, Marci Drees, Melissa A. Marx, Nolan Lee, Sami Gottlieb, Sharmila Shetty, Virginia Loo, Anonymous (n=6); Class of 2003 (n=19): AB Mendelsohn, Anna M. Likos, Asim A. Jani, Chung-won Lee, Dawn H Burmeister, Germânia Pinheiro, Laura J Podewils, Lisa Benaise, Nicole Flowers, Niranjan Bhat, Preethi Pratap, Rose Devasia, Samuel Mitchell, Tami Zalewski, Thea K Fischer, Vinicius Antao, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 2004 (n=24): Andie Newman, Benjamin Tsoi, Carolyn J. Tabak, David Van Sickle, Eileen Yee, Elizabeth Baraban, Eric Miller, Fatu Forna, Felicia Lewis, Heather A. Lindstrom, Kathy Kudish, Kathy Ritger, Krishna Jafa, Lora B Davis, Mark A Malek, Miriam (Lewis) Sabin, N. Neely Kazerouni, Rachel Plotinsky, Richard Taylor, Sara Russell Rodriguez, Sarita Shah, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 2005 (n=21): Deidre Crocker Moore, Eileen Farnon, Eric Stern, Gita Mirchandani, Hannah Gould, Joshua K Schaffzin, Larry Cohen, Manoj P Menon, Parmi Suchdev, Sangwoo Tak, Sharon K. Greene, Sucheta J. Doshi, Suchita Patel, Swati Deshpande, Thomas Weiser, Anonymous (n=6); Class of 2006 (n=10): Anandi Sheth, David Blaney, Jennifer R. Verani, Joan Brunkard, Kate Ellingson, Melissa Van Dyke, Nicholas Walter, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 2007 (n=25): Amy Karon, Amy L Boore, David Sugerman, Jenifer Leaf Jaeger, John Halpin, John M. De Pasquale, Kenneth A. Katz, Matt Hanson, Mitesh A. Desai, Neha Shah, Nila Dharan, Ning Rosenthal, Rakhee Palekar, Rinn Song, Shahed Iqbal, Stanley Wei, Anonymous (n=9); Class of 2008 (n=13): Alicia Siston, Anil Suryaprasad, Cynthia G. Thomas, Felipe Lobelo, Joseph Cavanaugh, Molly M Lamb, Nagesh Borse, Saumil Doshi, Sharyn Parks, Soo-Jeong Lee, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 2009 (n=28): Agam Rao, Anagha Loharikar, Andrew Medina-Marino, Chad M. Cox, Charbel El Bcheraoui, Christina Khaokham, Dita Broz, Emily Cartwright, Erin Murray, Eva Mortensen, James Colborn, Kimberly Mace, Nancy J Williams, Philip Yi-Chun Lo, Teeb Al-Samarrai, Thomas John Bender, Wade Ivy III, William L. Jeffries IV, Yenlik Zheteyeva, Anonymous (n=9); Class of 2010 (n=23): Alejandro Azofeifa, Amy Kolwaite, Andrew Terranella, Brendan Jackson, Candice Kwan, Dawn McDani, Francisco Meza, Gloria Anyalechi, Heather Bradley, Katie O’Connor Battey, Melissa Collier, Nancy Fleischer, Naomi Hudson, Prabhu Gounder, Sara Tartof, Sarah Bennett, Stacie Dunkle, Sudhir Bunga, Timothy Minniear, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 2011 (n=18): Camille E. Introcaso, Charlotte Baker, Emily W. Lankau, Eugene Lam, Genevieve Buser, Joyanna Wendt, Michael Kinzer, Nafisa Ghaji Ishaku, Niu Tian, Rennatus Mdodo, Sara Auld, Seema Yasmin, Terrence Lo, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 2012 (n=20): Abbey Canon, Alicia Demirjian, Anna-Binney McCague, Anne Purfield, Candice Johnson, Carolyn Sein, Carrie McNeil, Courtney Yuen, Kaci Hickox, Mandy Stahre, Philip Lederer, Stephanie Salyer, Von Nguyen, Anonymous (n=7); Class of 2013 (n=14): Edith Nyakaana Nyangoma, Ikwo Oboho, Jennifer Hunter, Jessica Adam, Joe Forrester, Jonathan Meiman, Julia Painter, Kimberly Pringle, Kristen Wendorf, Malini B. DeSilva, Patrick Ayscue, Seung Hee Lee, Anonymous (n=2); Class of 2014 (n=28): Amanda Kamali, Amelia Kasper, Christopher Hsu, Emily Fisher, Godwin Mindra, José Hagan, Karlyn D. Beer, Katie Curran, Mary A Parham, Monica Adams, Pamela Talley, Rupa Narra, Tasha Stehling-Ariza, Anonymous (n=15); Class of 2015 (n=27): Ahmed Kassem, Alice Wang, Anita Sircar, Anna Yaffee, Asher Rosinger, Ashley Styczynski, Christopher T Lee, Dana NcGuire, Elisabeth R Krow-Lucal, John Otshudiema, Jonas Hines, Jorge L. Salinas, Lawrence Purpura, Megumi Itoh, Minesh Shah, Sae-Rom Chae, Saleena Subaiya, Yuri Springer, Anonymous (n=9); Class of 2016 (n=26): Amanda Wilkinson, Amy Seitz, Anindita Issa, Betsy Schroeder, Bhavini Murthy, Blanche Greene-Cramer, Emily Mosites, Eugenie A Poirot, Jaymin Patel, Kimberly Skrobarcek, Laura D Zambrano, Martha Montgomery, Neil Murthy, Patrick K Mitchell, Rebecca Laws, Reena Doshi, Sarah Anne J. Guagliardo, Sharon Tsay, Victoria Hall, Vivian Leung, Anonymous (n=6); Class of 2017 (n=15): Alison Winstead, Amelia Keaton, Charles Alpren, Corey Peak, Emily Curren, Erin Moritz, Genevieve Bergeron, Jennifer Collins, Kirsten Vannice, Pryanka Relan, Roberta Horth, Anonymous (n=4); Class of 2018 (n=25): Alexander Wu, Benjamin Hallowell, Eric J. Chow, Erin Conners, Erin Whitehouse, Guillermo Sanchez, Joann Gruber, Karen Alroy, Kendra McDow, Kiva Fisher, Philip M Ricks, Radhika Gharpure, Samira Sami, Sean Buono, Sharon A Greene, Sonal Goyal, Stephanie Kujawski, Steven Rekant, Tristan D. McPherson, Anonymous (n=6); Class of 2019 (n=10): Anne Kimball, David Bui, Esther Kukielka, Grace Vahey, James T. Lee, Maureen Miller, Patrick Dawson, Anonymous (n=3); Class of 2020 (n=15): Amadea Britton, Amber Kunkel, Caroline Pratt, Debbie Malden, Emily Schmitt-Matzen, Hannah Rosenblum, Katrin Sadigh, Kimberly Bonner, Michele Bolduc, Rebecca Hershow, Reed Magleby, Talya Shragai, Anonymous (n=3). TOTAL 1951–2020, N=1056

DISCLAIMER: Signatories to this EIS Open Letter represent individuals expressing their personal opinions which do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization to which they may be affiliated.

Citation: Shinefield HR, Grayston JT, Barondess JA et al. Open Letter by Epidemic Intelligence Service Officers — Past and Present — in Support of CDC (with 1,044 signatories). The Epidemiology Monitor 2020 Oct; 41(10):12–18.