USA — Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has resigned from her position.
The announcement came as a surprise to many experts, and her last day will be on June 30.
While she did not provide a specific reason for her departure, Walensky said in her resignation letter to President Joe Biden that the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic marked a good time for a transition.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky has served as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for slightly more than two years.
Despite her departure, Walensky stated that she has never been prouder of anything she has accomplished in her professional career.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization no longer considers COVID-19 a global emergency, and the U.S. public health emergency declaration will expire soon.
The country’s death toll has dropped to its lowest point since the early days of the pandemic.
As a federal agency based in Atlanta, the CDC is responsible for safeguarding Americans against public health threats and disease outbreaks.
With over 12,000 employees and a US$12 billion budget, it is a critical institution for public health in the country.
Walensky, who was formerly an infectious-disease expert at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, had no prior experience running a government health agency.
She was chosen to lead the CDC due to her reputation as a prominent voice on the pandemic and her willingness to speak out against certain aspects of the government’s response.
Her goal was to increase morale at the CDC, rebuild public trust, and improve the agency’s pandemic response.
During her tenure, Walensky established a center for outbreak analytics and forecasting, modernized data systems, and reorganized the agency to improve communication with the public.
Despite her successes, there were also missteps. In the spring of 2021, she initially stated that fully vaccinated individuals could stop wearing masks in many settings, but later reversed that decision when the delta variant emerged.
And in December 2021, the CDC’s decision to shorten isolation and quarantine requirements caught many off guard and caused confusion.
In a statement, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients praised Walensky’s performance, stating that her creativity, expertise, and grit were crucial to the country’s effective response and recovery from the pandemic.
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