Trump appointed HIV/AIDS and opiate addiction researcher Robert Redfield Jr, MD as the new director of the CDC.
His bio seems appropriate. Redfield is a professor at the U of Maryland Medical School and has overseen clinical care for thousands of patients both in United States and abroad. He is also a retired US Army Major who was based at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In Redfield’s opening address to staff, he affirmed support for data-driven science and medically-based care for opiod addiction. Good news, especially with Trump all hot for more death penalties.
So why the controversy?
Much comes comes from past positions on HIV/AIDS and ties to conservative health organizations promoting abstinence only. In the days before effective treatments and no LGBT protections, he crafted the the military’s original policies on mandatory screening — without confidentiality. Here’s a straightforward article in WaPo that outlines his experience but does not sidestep the concerns raised by activists.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
More intensity emerges from Foreign Policy Magazine. The headline calls him as a homophobe, mostly from his days at Walter Reed. Bitterness over thousands of recruits exposed without confidentiality then ejected from the military remains.
foreignpolicy.com/…
I am prepared to watch and see what unfolds.