STAT+: After-hours CDC email sparked chaos at universities. It turned out to be a mistake
CDC requested answers about foreign aid programs from grant recipients who do no work abroad. It turns out to have been a mistake
On Thursday night, scientists and other public health workers supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received an email from the agency with a pressing demand for information. Marked “URGENT,” it contained a 10-page questionnaire directing them to detail what their federally funded projects do and to rate how well they contribute to national interests.
The survey, obtained by STAT, is titled “Foreign Assistance Review,” and appears to be in response to an Office of Management and Budget directive aimed at complying with President Donald Trump’s executive order to reassess how the country handles foreign aid. But many of the recipients were puzzled, because they do no work abroad.
The distribution of the survey created immediate chaos at universities and public health organizations, according to interviews with three individuals who received it. Part of the problem was conflicting information about when to complete it. The emails, which were sent from the CDC’s Global Health Center, gave a deadline of 8 a.m. Saturday. The body of the survey itself listed 11:59 p.m. on Friday. Neither was enough time to thoughtfully respond, researchers told STAT.
