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The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday announced a "reset" that will focus on making the organization quicker at responding to new health threats amid criticism of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, told the agency's staff about the changes, which include internal staffing moves and steps to speed up data releases.

"For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations," she said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post. "My goal is a new, public health action-oriented culture at CDC that emphasizes accountability, collaboration, communication, and timeliness."

The changes are a CDC initiative and were not directed by the White House or other administration officials, Walensky said.