NANCY CHEN:
00:00:50
That said, Yolanda, we understand the CDC is one of the agencies partially exempt from this shutdown. What exactly does that look like for you on the ground there? For us, it looks like a lot of employees that have been furloughed. And then we have those employees that are required to go in, and there won't be any pay for them. And it won't be any pay for people who are furloughed. So it just adds on to the travesty that has been happening at the agency for the past few months.
NANCY CHEN:
00:01:19
And Yolanda, talking to you here as a health communications specialist, the HHS specifically noted that CDC communications on public health information will be hampered during all of this. What kind of implications does that have on the public? It has a lot of implications because when the public does not get the information they need, sometimes, we think for ourselves. And it's not a bad thing to think for yourself. But when you don't have the proper guidance that you need, the public health experience behind that, sometimes you make decisions that you live to regret. And moving now into the colder months, we're looking at fluids going to be increasing. COVID-19 is still there. It's still something that is running through Americans. So without that advice, the recommendations that comes out of CDC, we could be seeing ourselves in a worse place than we currently are.
NANCY CHEN:
00:02:19
Yolanda Jacobs, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate your insight here.
