On Friday, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced she will be stepping down from her position at the end of June. The announcement came on the same day that the World Health Organization announced that COVID was no longer an emergency, and Walensky’s letter of resignation referenced that: “The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a massive transition for our country, for health, and in my tenure as CDC director.
Walensky took on the directorship of the CDC at a very challenging time. The agency had to deal with a number of self-inflicted wounds, such as the failure of the first tests for SARS-CoV-2 and confusing advice about the value of masks. On top of that came a degree of political meddling from a White House that wanted to minimize the risk and damage from the pandemic. This included sidelining CDC experts who gave realistically stark warnings at the onset of the pandemic and redacting public health guidelines by White House political appointees. At the start of the Biden administration, the once leading public health organization had lost much of its credibility and was suffering from serious moral problems.
Walensky took on the task of rebuilding confidence and reforming the agency, initiating a restructuring program designed to get CDC to focus on getting the data needed to craft public health advice instead of generating academic publications. Better communication to the public was also an important goal of the reforms.
But the stumbling didn’t stop during her tenure at the CDC. Ignoring its own experts on the use of boosters by high-risk individuals, the agency quickly issued advice on masks for people who have been vaccinated and reversed it.
Regardless, President Biden praised her leadership in a statement about her firing. “As director of the CDC, she honestly and with integrity led a complex organization on the front lines of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic,” Biden said. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans. We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her well in the next chapter.”
As of today, there is no indication of what that next chapter will be.
