Petrelis Files

NYT's Lawrence K. Altman = CDC Stenographer

The long, boring career of Lawrence K. Altman as the Centers for Disease Control's stenographer shows no signs of coming to an end any time soon. His latest act of anilingus for the CDC in the pages of the New York Times was on the coming flu season.

I don't know why Altman's editor, David Corcoran at the science desk, didn't just run the actual CDC transcript of yesterday's phone press conference with CDC honcho Julie Gerberding.

Altman, who once worked for the CDC, quoted Gerberding thirteen times. Other voices? In an Altman story about anything to do with the federal agency that once was his boss? Puh-leeze.

The Times really should put an end to this sort of stenography by Altman. His approach to any CDC story he writes can be summed up in two words: CDC says.

In her "let's honestly look at and trash Judy Miller" column, Maureen Dowd spoke truth to power: "But investigative reporting is not stenography."

Try telling that to Altman and his editor.

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November 11, 2005

Top Official Is Assuring on Flu Vaccine
By Lawrence K. Altman

[...]

"The good news is that this year's flu season is not off to an aggressive start," said the official, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Gerberding noted that "we have less flu in the country this year than at the same time last year," when the shortage of influenza vaccine was more severe.

Outbreaks of influenza have been spotty, and "that is a good thing because it gives us more time to get the vaccine out there," Dr. Gerberding told reporters in a telephone news conference. "More vaccine is coming," she added.

Among those affected by the delay is Dr. Gerberding's mother, Bette Gerberding, of Brookings, S.D., who asked her daughter if she should go to a neighboring state to get a flu shot, Dr. Gerberding said.

Because there is no influenza outbreak in Brookings, and Mrs. Gerberding's doctor expects a shipment by the end of the month, Dr. Gerberding said she advised her mother, "Just wait and make your appointment so that you can get it when it's available."

While health officials suspect that more people want the vaccine this year, the disease control agency has no data to support that impression, Dr. Gerberding said.

[...]

About 81 million doses, just short of the record 83 million, will be distributed by the end of this month, Dr. Gerberding said.

[...]

Public health agencies and private vaccine manufacturers cooperate to provide influenza immunizations, and collaboration has been very good this year, Dr. Gerberding said.

A precise map of the shortages will not be available until her agency collects more information, Dr. Gerberding said.

[...]

One problem is that Chiron is not making as much vaccine as it expected and does not know how much it will produce, Dr. Gerberding said.

President Bush's proposal to spend $7.1 billion for a possible influenza pandemic will help manufacturers expand capacity and prevent shortages for regular influenza in the long run, Dr. Gerberding said.