Former CDC head lands vaccine job at Merck
Kenyan Obama
Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, was named president of Merck & Co Inc's vaccine division,
the company said on Monday.
Health
Gerberding, who led the CDC from 2002 to 2009, stepped down when President
Barack Obama took office.
She had led the agency from one crisis to another, including the
investigation into the anthrax attacks that killed five people in 2001,
the H5N1 avian influenza, the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory
syndrome, or SARS, and various outbreaks of food poisoning.
"As a preeminent authority in public health, infectious diseases and
vaccines, Dr. Gerberding is the ideal choice to lead Merck's engagement
with organizations around the world that share our commitment to the use
of vaccines to prevent disease and save lives," Merck Chief Executive
Officer Richard Clark said in a statement.
"I am very excited to be joining Merck where I can help to expand access
to vaccines around the world," added Gerberding, who will head up the
company's $5 billion global vaccine business that includes shots to
prevent chickenpox, cervical cancer and pneumonia.
CommentsSee All Comments (2) | Post Comment
Dec 22, 2009
Seems incredibly suspicious to me. Five BILLION dollar company� suddenly
headed up by an organization that tells you to either vaccinate or not and
the risks therein. Would be pretty easy to push whatever filled your
pockets. If I had the authority, I�d investigate this situation pronto.
nicewoman Report As Abusive
Dec 22, 2009
So Gerberding cashes in. No surprise, this is the climate that pervades
government agencies and the corporations they regulate. Gerberding was a
good friend to Merck. It bears asking, however, with all the cases
implicating Merck in fraudulent activity, how is it that Gerberding now
feels comfortable joining the Merck team? The losers in this revolving-
door practice are Americans who still trust their health to a 6th-grade
concept of democracy and accountability