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In 2020, the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) faced a daunting task: It needed to fill more than 900 job vacancies—and fast. The center, which does things like inspect pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, was in the process of modernizing the FDA’s New Drugs Regulatory Program just as the pandemic started. It faced “a surge in work,” along with new constraints that have affected everyone during the pandemic, including travel limitations and lockdowns.