In May, officials inside the CDC told CNN they were being muzzled and that science was taking a backseat to political goals. That couldnt happen until the federal government could explain how millions of doses that had gone unaccounted for in the distribution system. Its been super humbling. In September, Michael Caputo, former assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, apologized to agency staff after he reportedly interfered with CDC reports on the severity of Covid-19 and accused the CDC of harboring a resistance unit opposed to Trump. During the summer, as Trump pivoted his focus to the election, he didnt speak to Fauci for months. Washington University, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. We host many occasions all year long, and can comfortably accommodate up to 110 guests inside our tasting room, and But officials at the CDC and other federal health agencies said she has yet to lay out a vision for the CDCs response to Covid-19 and beyond. My immediate focus is encouraging people to receive the earliest vaccine that is available to them. Walensky took over for Dr. Robert Redfield last week, inheriting an agency that has been heavily criticized for its response to the crisis under former President Donald Trump. Sponsored by Men's Wearhouse. The CDC also caught flack for its botched testing rollout during the beginning months of the pandemic. But Walenskys statement kicked off a series of heated, closed-door conversations at the White House among officials who were still in the throes of working with health officials to finish the guidelines, including specific language on vaccinations and teachers. We cant forget: cases remain very high, and with variants spreading, we could completely lose the hard-earned ground we just gained, Walensky said in a statement to POLITICO. How many times has Rochelle Walensky been From her first week directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when she warned that Covid-19 could kill 100,000 people over the next month, Walensky has been charged with delivering difficult truths to a weary public. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated Ashish Jhas involvement with the Biden administration Covid-19 response. And Republicans nationwide had begun attacking the Biden administration for not doing enough to lower the barrier for students returning back to in-person instruction. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser officiated and attending a wedding Saturday night in Washington with "hundreds" of unmasked guests after reimposing the CDC Director It hinges on her ability to get people to listen to her and the science and data that support the agencys policy recommendations, officials said. Web528 Rochelle Walensky Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 528 rochelle walensky I think that during 2020 the CDC was too often silenced or muzzled. Science Not Politics: How Dr. Rochelle Walensky is Saving the CDC But Walenskys success wont be determined in closed-door meetings. She doesnt work in a vacuum. Redfield, who has sidestepped criticism of the agency and Trump, acknowledged there was a lack of consistency of public health messaging from civic leaders during the pandemic in an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday. Redfield did not often appear with White House officials at press conferences. ROCHELLE WALENSKY: Thanks so much for having me, Ailsa.