Newsman: Rochelle Walensky is leaving her post, the White House announced Friday. In an internal email announcing her departure, Walensky wrote that she would step down on June 30.
She gave no specific reason for the decision to resign, writing that “at this pivotal moment for our nation and public health, having worked together to accomplish so much over the last two-plus years, it is with mixed emotions that I will step down.”
Walensky in her email offered little in the way of a transition plan, writing only that “more information will be shared with you about next steps for CDC.”
But ,In a statement, President Biden said, “Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans.”
Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guided President Joe Biden’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic from his first day in office.
Rochelle Walensky acknowledged, the agency did not meet expectations during the pandemic and launched reorganization.
Last summer, Walensky launched a reorganization of the CDC, acknowledging that its “performance did not reliably meet expectations” during the pandemic.
She said she wanted to modernize the agency and rehabilitate its reputation.
“The agency recognizes — and it’s been very public — that we haven’t been able to be as nimble as we’ve needed to be,” Walenksy told POLITICO in an interview in October. “I think people within the agency recognize the need for change.”
A year ago, she ordered a review of the agency’s Covid response and structure, and in August, she introduced a spate of reforms to improve its ability to move faster during an outbreak, communicate better with the public and be better prepared for the next public health emergency.
Walensky was appointed in December 2020 by then-President-elect Biden. As the head of Massachusetts General Hospital’s infectious disease division and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
