‘ It ’ s Been a Pretty Rocky Road. ’ CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky Reflects on Her Tenure During COVID-19

Dr. Rochelle Walensky became director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2021, a fraught time in the country’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Americans’ confidence in the nation’s leading public health organization was at an all-time low, and Walensky had to not only manage the national response but rebuild public trust at the same time. She faced criticism over some aspects of the pandemic response, including confusing messaging and delays in processing data related to cases and severity of the disease. While most public health experts acknowledged that she led the agency, and the country’s pandemic response, with a science-based focus, she became the target of political opponents who blamed her, and the CDC, for complications related to COVID-19 vaccines and for avoidable hospitalizations and deaths from the disease. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Walensky resigns as director effective June 30; she spoke with TIME about her historic and tumultuous tenure. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. TIME: Two and a half years into the pandemic, should we be in a better place than we are now in terms of COVID-19 cases and illness? Walensky: Well, I would say we are in a much better place than we were for sure with over 95% of people having immunity of one flavor or another and many people have immunity both related to prior vaccination or prior infection. So there is a lot...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news