Updated · The Atlanta Journal Constitution · Sep 17
CDC Chief Erica Schwartz Vows Trust Rebuild as 3,294 Measles Cases Fuel Data Dispute
Updated
Updated · The Atlanta Journal Constitution · Sep 17
CDC Chief Erica Schwartz Vows Trust Rebuild as 3,294 Measles Cases Fuel Data Dispute
3 articles · Updated · The Atlanta Journal Constitution · Sep 17
Summary
Six weeks into the job, Erica Schwartz pledged a more transparent, accessible CDC leadership style and told staff to tell her “what you need to know, not what you want to know.”
Her trust-rebuilding push comes after the agency lost more than 3,000 employees—about one-quarter of its workforce since a 2024 peak—and cycled through leaders for a year, leaving morale at an all-time low.
Schwartz also faces mounting criticism over measles reporting after the CDC excluded Pennsylvania’s reported measles deaths from its national tally, saying it lacked enough information to confirm measles as the underlying cause.
As of Friday, the CDC listed 3,294 confirmed U.S. measles cases and zero deaths in 2026; Democrats have demanded a briefing, accusing Schwartz of concealing public health data amid the worst outbreak in more than three decades.
At her Atlanta appearance, Schwartz avoided discussing measles and vaccines directly, even as Georgia has confirmed 16 cases this year, including 10 tied to a metro Atlanta daycare.