Rochelle Walensky will step down as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the end of June, an unexpected departure after more than two years leading the agency through an oft-criticized response to the biggest public health crisis in a century.
(Bloomberg) — Rochelle Walensky will step down as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the end of June, an unexpected departure after more than two years leading the agency through an oft-criticized response to the biggest public health crisis in a century.
“The end of the Covid-19 public health emergency 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.”
Her departure comes as the country nears the end of the Covid public health emergency on May 11. The World Health Organization said Friday that Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global health emergency.
Walensky, 54, became CDC director in 2021 at the beginning of Biden’s term, promising to revitalize an agency under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike for producing flawed Covid-19 tests and inconsistent messaging on how the virus spreads, among other things. The previous CDC Director, Robert Redfield, had gradually receded from public view as the Trump administration continued to tout conflicting or even false scientific claims about the virus.
Read More: What Happened to the CDC? Storied Disease Agency Takes Back Seat
Last year, Walensky launched a multi-pronged review of the CDC that unearthed deep concerns about responsiveness to health emergencies. In January, she began rolling out sweeping changes to the agency that included hiring new leadership, requiring each employee be ready to deploy for national health crises and creating new offices to address health equity and surveillance.
House Republicans sent a letter to Walensky after the announcement Friday asking for more information about the agency’s ongoing reorganization efforts.
CDC staff received an email from Walensky about her departure only minutes before Biden’s statement. Walensky cited “mixed emotions” about stepping down from her post and said more information will be shared about next steps for CDC prior to her departure, according to an email viewed by Bloomberg.
“I have never been prouder of anything I have done in my professional career,” she said in the email. Prior to joining CDC, Walensky served as the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2012 through 2020.
Read More: CDC Chief Shakes Up Agency With New Offices, Leadership
Two staffers said the possibility of her departure had been a subject of speculation at the agency but that the announcement came as a surprise to most. One said the director’s job has only gotten more difficult during the pandemic. Many people at CDC are shocked and saddened by her departure, the staffer said.
State and local health officials all over the country faced intense scrutiny and pressure during the pandemic. Last year, Anthony Fauci, formerly Biden’s medical adviser, announced he would be retiring after a storied career as the top US government infectious disease expert under seven presidents and over nearly four decades. Fauci, Walensky and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf have been some of the most public facing health leaders during the pandemic and have repeatedly been called in front of Congress to testify about their agencies’ responses to the virus.
Biden commended Walensky’s work in a statement Friday.
“She led a complex organization on the frontlines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity,” Biden said. “Dr. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans.”
(Updates with information throughout.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.