If you get confused by the alphabet soup of agencies managing the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. NIH. FDA. CDC: What are their missions, and how do their roles differ?
Although the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all respond to emerging and ongoing medical needs in the U.S., from infectious disease to mental health, they play different roles in fighting COVID-19 at home and abroad. And their mandates have evolved along with the nation and its changing public health needs.
Healthcare wasn’t part of the plan when the U.S. was founded. At the time, epidemics were rampant and life expectancies low and the medical
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