{"id":2173869,"date":"2026-03-26T15:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?p=2173869&post_type=podcast&preview_id=2173869"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:58:29","slug":"what-the-health-439-cdc-lacks-leader-march-26-2026","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/podcast\/what-the-health-439-cdc-lacks-leader-march-26-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Health? From KFF Health News: A Headless CDC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\tThe Host\t<\/h3>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Julie Rovner<\/div>\n\t
KFF Health News<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t@jrovner\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t@julierovner.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\tRead Julie's stories.\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tJulie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News\u2019 weekly health policy news podcast, "What the Health?" A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book "Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z," now in its third edition.\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration this week missed a deadline to nominate a new director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without a nominee, current acting Director Jay Bhattacharya \u2014 who is also the director of the National Institutes of Health \u2014 has to give up that title, leaving no one at the helm of the nation\u2019s primary public health agency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a week after one federal judge blocked changes to the childhood vaccine schedule made by the Department of Health and Human Services, another blocked a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rachel Cohrs Zhang<\/div>\n\t
Bloomberg News<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t@rachelcohrs\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Lizzy Lawrence<\/div>\n\t
Stat<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t@LizzyLaw_\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t@lizzylawrence.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\tReady Lizzy's stories.\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
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Shefali Luthra<\/div>\n\t
The 19th<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\tRead Shefali's stories.\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
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Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n\n\n\n