Press Releases

Jonathan M. Samet, M.D., M.S., today received the 2016 Fries Prize for Improving Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for his pioneering research and decades of advocacy on the negative impacts of air pollution on health.  

The CDC Foundation releases Business Pulse: Tobacco Use to help businesses improve employee health—and overall business health—by reducing tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure.

To support efforts to stem the Zika outbreak, the CDC Foundation announced a $1 million donation from the Pfizer Foundation in funding for the comprehensive Zika response. Additionally, in-kind donations of up to 170,000 doses of injectable reversible contraceptive product from Pfizer have been provided for the Zika Contraception Access Network (Z-CAN) in Puerto Rico. In addition to donations of products and funding from multiple partners, this donation will provide essential support against this growing health threat for women who choose to delay or avoid pregnancy.

The CDC Foundation has named Monique Saunders Patrick as chief operating officer. In this role Patrick will report to the president and CEO and have responsibility for the Foundation’s finance, human resources, legal and information technology functions and will serve on the Foundation’s executive team.

For his efforts to save countless lives worldwide by uncovering the root causes of cardiovascular disease and cancer and bringing data to bear on public policies, Sir Richard Peto received the 2016 CDC Foundation Hero Award. The award presentation followed Peto’s keynote at the “Halving Global Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Rates” symposium at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As Zika virus continues its rapid spread throughout Puerto Rico and with mosquito season underway, the CDC Foundation announced today that the Zika Contraception Access Network (Z-CAN) is now operational. The Network is providing women in Puerto Rico with a full range of contraceptive options free of charge on the same day of their healthcare service. 

To underscore the impact of workplace crashes, and to share actions employers can take to protect their workers in the United States and abroad, NIOSH and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control joined with the CDC Foundation to launch Business Pulse: Motor Vehicle Safety at Work.

A new communications campaign aimed at empowering pregnant women on how to prevent Zika virus transmission has launched in Puerto Rico. The campaign, part of an effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC Foundation, the Puerto Rico Department of Health and other partners announced in May, also focuses on empowering the social networks surrounding pregnant women—including partners, families, neighbors and community members—to take action to #StopZika in their homes and communities. 

The CDC Foundation announced a new partnership in 2015 with CDC's Division of Blood Disorders within the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and other partners to support the development and operation of a longitudinal data collection system for Americans with sickle cell disease. Biogen is joining this partnership to help address this health problem. 

Business Pulse: Lowering Healthcare Costs, Improving Productivity explores how CDC can help businesses with interventions proven to address health conditions while improving workers’ health and boosting business productivity.