Rochelle Walensky

Dr. Rochelle Walensky is stepping down as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), President Biden said in a statement Friday. The CDC said she will leave the agency at the end of June. 

Too often, public-health experts assume that the public wants a projection of perfect confidence.

The CDC’s new push to get information about health crises out faster to Americans is already running up against its limited authority, congressional inaction and the agency’s own entrenched culture.

In August, Director Rochelle Walensky ordered an overhaul of the CDC after its bungled Covid-19 response, including a drive to share research and data sooner and be more open with the public about what agency scientists do — and don’t — know.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a televised interview Tuesday that the agency is "resetting" after admitting it made "dramatic" mistakes in reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nation’s top public health official acknowledged Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had failed to respond effectively to the coronavirus pandemic, and committed to extensive changes, including faster release of scientific findings and easier-to-understand guidance.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told senior leaders that she had embraced a long-awaited revamp of CDC culture based on an internal review that called for a more nimble and better-trained workforce and changing incentives to reward action over publication, among other things.

The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Aug. 17 announced that the agency would be revamped, after a review found it did not adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director, informed the approximately 13,000 CDC employees of the planned changes, which include reorganizing the agency in an attempt to make quicker decisions, be more accountable, and improve communication.

Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Wednesday she will make major modifications to the agency’s structure, including staffing changes and efforts to improve public messaging, after she said the agency failed to adequately respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to multiple outlets.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that the agency “did not reliably meet expectations” and would overhaul its operations after an external review found shortcomings in the COVID-19 response.

The review, begun in April, comes after the CDC faced heavy criticism for its stumbles both in the early days of the pandemic and more recently, with critics pointing to confusing guidance and slow responses.

Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 18 backed COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months of age.

The advisers unanimously voted to advise the CDC to recommend all children, save for those who have contraindications to the vaccines, from 6 months through 5 years of age get the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, both of which are built on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky will now decide whether or not to accept the advice.

A key CDC advisory committee unanimously voted to support a recommendation that Moderna and Pfizer COVID shots be allowed for children as young as six months old.

Why it matters: If CDC Director Rochelle Walensky agrees, the shots could be in little arms as early as next week.