Health
CDC Director Announces Surprise Exit as Covid Emergency Ends
- Agency has faced harsh criticism for pandemic response
- Walensky has been rolling out sweeping changes to CDC
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
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.”