Walensky announces resignation as CDC director
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Key takeaways:
- Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, told President Joe Biden on Friday that she will resign as CDC director at the end of June.
- A replacement has not been named.
Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, announced Friday that she will resign as CDC director at the end of June.
A replacement has not been named.
Although she did not give a reason for her resignation, Walensky noted the upcoming end of the federal public health emergency for COVID-19 as a significant point in time.
The end of the declaration “marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC director,” Walensky said in a letter to President Joe Biden.
“I took on this role, at your request, with the goal of leaving behind the dark days of the pandemic and moving CDC — and public health — forward into a much better and more trusted place,” she wrote.
WHO on Friday also announced that it would end its global public health emergency for COVID-19.
Walensky replaced Robert R. Redfield, MD, as director of the CDC in January 2021 after serving as chief of infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chair of the NIH’s Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council.
She guided the CDC through the Biden administration’s plan for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and during a time of changing guidance about masks and other interventions, which the agency often received criticism for. She was at the helm during an unexpected global mpox outbreak.
Walensky offered her own criticism of the agency’s response to COVID-19 in comments and a letter to CDC staff last summer, which followed internal and external reviews that found deficiencies in the way the agency shares science and data, translates findings into practical policy and prioritizes public health communications.
“In our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” Walensky said of the CDC and U.S. public health.
Walensky has spent the last several months putting in place her “Moving Forward” series of reforms at the CDC, which include improving the timeliness and clarity of the agency’s communications and bolstering the public health workforce.
“Dr. Walensky leaves the CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans,” Biden said. “We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health.”
References:
- Walensky announces departure from CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0505-walensky.html. Published May 5, 2023. Accessed May 5. 2023.
- White House. Statement from President Biden on Dr. Rochelle Walensky. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/05/statement-from-president-biden-on-dr-rochelle-walensky/. Published May 5, 2023. Accessed May 5, 2023.
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