Prevent Epidemics • March 10, 2020
Soon after I became director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in June of 2009, I was asked to brief President Barack Obama about the emerging pandemic of H1N1 influenza. It was the first time I had briefed the president, there was a blizzard of information from CDC’s experts, and I had a videocall with dozens of CDC professionals—most of whom didn’t know I was about to brief the president—just before the briefing to make sure I had the latest information.