Every American 12 and older, no matter where they live, has vaccines readily available to them. And flu cases are exploding. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said more than 4.1 million adolescents 12 to 17 have been vaccinated so far, including over half a million 12-15-year-olds who have lined up to get a shot since the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for adolescents earlier this month. First, we include recommendations for individuals and families. So, Kaitlan, we dont have the data the clinical data but I think one can make the reasonable assumption based on the level of virus in the nasal pharynx that it would be less likely that that vaccinated breakthrough person would transmit, compared to an unvaccinated person.MR. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. My heart and respect and gratitude to all of our health care workers who are working hard through this season, not just for respiratory viruses in children but through - across the board. declined to comment on how the mask recommendations were handled. Fitness Guru, Austin Alexander Burridge, Reviews 5 Ways to Improve the Quality of Workouts, The best Vegan protein Shakes in 2023 and its health benefits Tried and Tested. MODERATOR: Go to Erin Billups at Spectrum News. Back to you, Jeff. And those happening now are even more tragic because they are preventable. Much of that has to do with cycles of funding for the national public health system that rise in reaction to a crisis and then fall, hurting efforts to prevent the next crisis. And she likens the call she got from the Biden. But C.D.C. In a hearing on COVID-19 on Capitol Hill last week, Walensky was forced to defend the agencys integrity against questions around recent murky messaging and shared a personal story about her son to support the CDC guidance on summer camps. And within communities, these cases are occurring primarily among unvaccinated individuals. The recommendation startled not just the White House but also state and local leaders, prompting criticism that she had failed to prepare Americans for the agencys latest about-face during the pandemic. It wasnt until lunchtime, when everyone took out a yogurt, a root beer and a little bag of pretzels, her standard lunch, that she noticed. Crossword Newsletters Dr. Walenskys appointment instantly made her one of the most influential women in the nation, and was greeted with enthusiasm by public health experts and C.D.C. Dr. Walensky also has her eye trained on racial equity in health care within the ranks of C.D.C. Which Pigmentation Removal Cream Works Best on Dark Spots & Suntan? Dr. Rochelle Wallinski is the daughter of Carol Bersov Bernstein and Edward H. Bersov, the former chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital. So, while we are in a far better position than we were in January through April, this increased in red area is giving us all a reason to double-down and get more people vaccinated.The good news is that if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected against severe COVID, hospitalization, and death, and are even protected against the known variants including the Delta variant circulating in the country.If you are not vaccinated, you remain at risk. She is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and President-elect Biden has announced that she will be the director of the new CDC. Rochelle is a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Scenes from Mass General were still fresh in her mind when she arrived at the C.D.C. Rochelle Walensky - Wikipedia (AP Photo/Susan Walsh). employees called on then-director Dr. Redfield to address ongoing and recurring acts of racism and discrimination against Black staff members and outlined a seven-point plan. At the time, there was a growing body of evidence . Rochelle Walensky - Ethnicity of Celebs | EthniCelebs.com And please do it to protect your young children who, right now, cant get vaccinated themselves. Under unrelenting pressure from the pandemic and the Trump administration, the atmosphere inside the agency devolved last year into ugly rivalries and turf wars, according to several staff scientists. You feel healthy, you know people who have had COVID and are doing all right. Director's Page | About | CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention You know, this strategy as we think, going forward, about how to get the rest of the country vaccinated has got to involve everyone. WALENSKY: The messaging that we're using in terms of protecting older people from COVID but also from other respiratory pathogens - and including influenza and RSV, both of which impact older people with more severity as well - is prevention mechanisms such as flu vaccine and COVID vaccination, really critically important. It was Dr. Fauci, who had known and admired her work on H.I.V., who recommended her. Lets take a few questions. The recent exits of two high-ranking agency officials within the C.D.C. But through it all, as the long months became a year, Walensky had been out front, Stephenson says, sticking to the science and telling the truth. He wasnt willing to resign when it was necessary or to be fired for standing up for principle, said David Holtgrave, a former CDC staffer who is now dean of the public health school at the State University of New York at Albany. In fact, in the past week, the five states with the highest case rates Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, and Nevada had a higher rate of people getting newly vaccinated compared to the national average.At the same time, our COVID-19 Surge Response Teams are working with governors and local public health officials to provide specific federal resources and capabilities to fight outbreaks due to the spread of the Delta variant.We are already helping many states to identify and address specific needs, including testing, therapeutics, and vaccinations. And as Dr. Walensky and Dr. Fauci are making clear, this is a question that they are continually evaluating. Redfield kept a low profile during his first two years in office after being appointed by the Trump administration in 2018. Were also asking other organizations to do their part in every sector from health and education, to research and journalism, to philanthropy and government. This top tier agency, world-renowned, hasn't really been appreciated over the last four years and really markedly over the last year or so. But very importantly, technology companies must act as well. Slavitt said he knows it may be easy for young people to think COVID-19 doesn't affect them because they may feel healthy and be asymptotic but emphasized that experts still don't know enough about the long-term effects of the disease. It was the mid-'90s, and the AIDS epidemic was still raging. Walensky is facing a historic challenge, and leading an agency where she's never worked. Tens of millions have been infected. "We now have 38,000 new infections, on average, per day. Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, is the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School; has conducted influential research on HIV/AIDS, making her one of the nation's leading experts on virus testing, prevention and treatment, and has served on the frontline of the Dr. Rochelle Walensky likens the call she got from the Biden team, asking her to lead the CDC amid a pandemic, to a hospital alarm that goes off when a patient's heart has stopped. And if you look at the far right of the slide, as of just a couple of days ago, they are very low. It was that sometimes it felt like sabotage. "I got called during a code," she says. In an interview last month, Dr. Schuchat said she had come to admire and like Dr. Walensky: This is a really tough leadership job, and I think shes absolutely the right person for it.. Biden's Straight-Talking CDC Director Has Long Used Data to Save Lives On her first day as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January, Dr. Rochelle Walensky ordered a review of all Covid-related guidance on the agencys website. Walensky announced today that she has decided to nationalize America's rental properties, millions and millions of them from Maine to California. Shes not a crier if anything, I get choked up much more easily than she does, he said. Next question. CHANG: I will. scientists are now routinely involved in conversations with the White House, where previously they were sidelined and silenced. Dr. Walensky appeared before a Senate appropriations subcommittee meeting in May. "It was so baffling," she says. To rebuild CDC, Biden picks Rochelle Walensky - POLITICO - Yahoo! The truth is that, across our nation, the voices of doctors, nurses, scientists, and public health experts are too often being drowned out by the false sirens of misinformation. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) Americans everywhere are going to be gathering with their families and other loved ones to celebrate the holidays. You know, as we have said, this is very heterogeneous across the country and these decisions have to be made at the local level. Health care workers in the US started receiving Pfizers coronavirus vaccine this week, and its expected they could get Modernas vaccine starting next week. And then finally and really important is that - and my family knows this. Schaffner added that he thinks Walensky will be an effective communicator in general a much needed skill for her new job, given that many Americans, not just health care workers, are hesitant about the new vaccine. Next Post: Readout of President Joe Bidens Participation in the APEC Virtual Leaders Retreat, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/07/16/press-briefing-by-white-house-covid-19-response-team-and-public-health-officials-45/?utm_source=link, Office of the United States Trade Representative, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/COVID-Press-Briefing_16July2021_for-transcript.pdf. Dr. Anne Schuchat, the deputy director, and Dr. Nancy Messonnier, who led the agencys infectious disease center have led to speculation about continuing unrest within the agency. Do we believe that they will maintain some protection against infection? He calls Rochelle his "Wonder Woman" and still remembers when he first saw her 30 years ago, in the cafeteria of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where they were both students. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Rochelle is the daughter of Edward Bersoff and Carol Bersoff-Bernstein. director than my previous 18 predecessors, and sort of a different kind of character in public health.. He said, 'What's wrong, what's wrong, is everything OK?' Rochelle Walensky is an American physician-scientist. Were going to have to really seriously address these myths that are floating around, and Im not even sure how to start to do that, she added. Copyright 2022 NPR. The C.D.C.'s New Leader Follows the Science. Is That Enough? Still, hospitals like his continue to do educational campaigns for their employees, like the videos Walensky appeared in. treatments. She is recognized internationally for her work to improve HIV screening and care in South Africa. (RAGS) (DJH) March 2, 2023 MODERATOR: Kaitlan Collins at CNN. Walensky's family has a tradition of service, including a grandfather who served in World War II and rose to be a brigadier general. However, if you look at the trend on the far righthand part of that slide, theres that uptick, which somehow was reflecting what Dr. Walensky just told you about the slight uptick that were seeing in hospitalizations in our own country. So the news had special meaning for her and the many jubilant colleagues tweeting their joy. By late 2020, reports that the Trump administration had rewritten recommendations purported to be from agency experts further damaged public trust. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Robert Redfield, Dr. Walenskys predecessor, in March 2020. Director | About | CDC While public health veterans say they do not know everything that happened behind the scenes, they say Redfield apparently failed to stand up for agency scientists, declined to contradict Trump and those around him and passively allowed the Trump administration to post its messaging on CDC websites. Thank you for taking my question. Walensky, director of the CDC, confirmed that the vaccines largely were ineffective in preventing viral transmission from person to . It will take all of us. She later joined the infectious disease unit as an assistant in medicine and later as an assistant physician before she was promoted to the position of an associate physician. Next slide. Dr. Walensky spoke during an introduction of President Bidens health nominees and appointments in Wilmington, Del., in December. Dr Rochelle Walensky Parents Nationality, Family and Husband: 10 Facts Did you encounter any technical issues? Leading and rebuilding the CDC in the midst of a pandemic will be difficult. Walensky serves as the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a practicing Infectious Disease physician both at MGH and at Brigham and Womens Hospital. We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Receive the latest news and breaking updates, straight from our newsroom to your inbox. MR. ZIENTS: Dr. Fauci?DR. She will replace Dr. Robert Redfield, who assumed the role in March 2018. And so, if youve got people in your life who trust you, who look to you for advice, then you have the power to help them get them accurate information and help get them vaccinated and protected from COVID-19. Full Biography Director Speaker Request Meet Our Leadership Team Spotlight Jim Pirkle, MD, PhD, serves as ADLSS and OLSS Director. She is the daughter of Carol Bersoff-Bernstein and Edward H. Bersoff. Walensky declined to give a timeline on Tuesday on when the CDC will release new guidance for schools after publishing information over the weekend suggesting schools should not keep masking policies in place until the end of this school year. She is absolutely fearless in doing what is the correct thing, with zero concern for the political ramifications for herself.. C.D.C. When people write about me as the selection for this position, they will say, But she has no on-the-ground public health experience,' she said during a podcast with the Journal of the American Medical Association. If you look at this map of the world, theyre at about 100 countries that have now have the Delta variant that is detected in them in June of since June in 2020. "Super loud. Several topics were raised during the hearing, including the pause on the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the timeline for reopening schools, and COVID-19 testing for . Dr. Walensky was not on the Bidens administrations initial list of candidates for C.D.C. She has been Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since January 20, 2021. The camp guidance is intended to get our kids to camp and allow them to stay there," she continued. ", Biden Names Massachusetts Doctor To Lead CDC, HHS Spokesperson Takes Leave of Absence After Disparaging Government Scientists, House Oversight Committee Chair: Testimony Points To Political Interference At CDC, Coronavirus Vaccine Q&A: Variants, Side Effects, And More, CDC Offers Clearest Guidance Yet For Reopening Schools, If Schools Follow CDC Guidance, Biden's Reopening Goals Could Be Hard To Reach, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. WALENSKY: And maybe MR. Shes clear, articulate and she can deliver messages with a smile. That includes 11 million delayed pediatric vaccinations; widespread mental health problems; an uptick in opioid overdoses; and lapses in control of high blood pressure, cancer and H.I.V. Over the next few months, Bernstein spent hours and hours in meetings with CDC officials, including agency Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and then more time preparing presentations on education . She favors the John Snow Memorandum, which advocates an alternative, risk-based approach to the COVID-19 pandemic that involves Focused Protection of those most at risk and seeks to avoid or minimize the societal harm of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Dr. Gounder, who has known Dr. Walensky since 2004 and considers her a friend, said Dr. Walensky was still the best person she could think of to lead the C.D.C. Yesterday I issued a Surgeon Generals Advisory on the dangers of health misinformation. Its another life protected. WALENSKY: You know, so we have always said when we released our COVID-19 community levels back in February that things were on the downward trend, and that was really good news but that we wanted you to put your masks away, not to throw your masks out. Each COVID-19 death is tragic. On the left, you can see where we were just a short month ago, and compare it to where we are now, on the right. And that has had a detrimental effect on the agencys ability to fulfill its mission, said Dr. Richard Besser, a former CDC official who now heads the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. But Dr. Fauci said that he believed some small missteps were inevitable, and that Dr. Walensky was a quick study. Thank you. Is That Enough? In 2019, she testified before Congress about the prohibitive cost of preventive therapy and treatments for H.I.V. CHANG: Well, when it comes to people who are 70 or over - I mean, COVID hospitalizations are rising sharply for that group. In November she co-authored a paper published in Health Affairs in November 2020 that showed the factors that can affect the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine. A highway sign in Vancouver, Wash., the day after the state lifted its mask mandate for fully vaccinated adults. Why isn't the CDC putting out more forceful messaging about protecting older people from COVID this season? The speed at which she is assuming the job is unusual. Similar. floundered at the beginning of the pandemic, pilloried for its botched coronavirus test and antiquated data systems. In the next slide, we see the UK. Well, we're going to put that question now to CDC director Rochelle Walensky. Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Appointed CDC Director Next slide shows data from the UK with the Delta variant, which the Pfizer-BioNTech, which clearly reflects what well be seeing with Moderna, is 96 percent effective against hospitalization. That black hole in your chest, you feel like youre being sucked into it. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has come under criticism for the confusing messaging. ". Our seven-day average is about 26,300 cases per day, and this represents an increase of nearly 70 percent from the prior seven-day average.The seven-day average of hospital admissions is about 2,790 per day an increase of about 36 percent from the previous seven-day period. We also - you know, we'll consider doing testing before we all gather. WILLSEY v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA et al CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said more than 4.1 million adolescents 12 to 17 have been vaccinated so far, including over half a million 12-15-year-olds who have lined up to get a shot since the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for adolescents earlier this month. And were seeing it in the data. And then, a few years later, she saw the advent of HIV treatments that could save patients if those patients could get access to testing and care. Please.DR. All Rights Reserved. Some of its advice had been twisted by the Trump administration, and her message was clear: The C.D.C. We are dealing with highly effective vaccines. But that enthusiasm has been tempered by occasional missteps in communications, an aspect of the job that is more important and challenging than it has ever been. And all of these if-thens.". MR. ZIENTS: Well, thanks, Dr. Murthy. itself. She saw many people die. But its also going to take each one of us, you know, as Americans across this country, looking to our family and our friends and asking them if they are vaccinated.You know, this vaccination campaign is going to move, in part, driven by trusted relationships. The Race : TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Archive Go present to your physician for other tests like for RSV or influenza. Stephenson is an infectious disease specialist and vaccine scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who has been selected to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, to announce President-elect Joe Biden's his health care team. CHANG: These latest bivalent COVID boosters, I mean, how well do you think they will work given the fact that they target sub-variants that really aren't dominant anymore, right? The bottom line is: We are dealing with a formidable variant in the Delta variant, as reflected by the data that Dr. Walensky told you, and the extreme vulnerability of people who are not vaccinated, which will account for infections, hospitalizations, and, ultimately, deaths.And so the message loud and clear that we need to reiterate is that these vaccines continue to strong protection against SARS-CoV-2, including the Delta variant. Four months later, Dr. Walensky announced that vaccinated people could stop wearing masks in most settings. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/health/walensky-cdc-covid.html. Rochelle is married to Loren Walensky, a pediatric oncologist, cancer chemical biologist and director of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program. Last summer, after protests over the death of George Floyd, more than 1,200 C.D.C. The video, plus another video Walensky appears in, are part of an effort to help educate hospital employees about the coronavirus vaccines, according to Dr. Paul Biddinger, director of emergency preparedness for Mass General Brigham. There are two things happening at the same time, she said. Dr. Murthy.SURGEON GENERAL MURTHY: Well, thanks so much, Jeff. appreciated. But I have another question before I get to vaccination. Do you agree with that guidance? Walensky's family has a tradition of service, including a grandfather who served in World War II and rose to be a brigadier general. She will succeed Dr. Robert Redfield, 69, who came to the CDC with a similar resume as an outsider from academia. 5 Takeaways From House GOP's First Hearing on COVID-19 and the country out of the pandemic. Therell be a lesson learned here.. ", She also had extraordinary energy and discipline, even then, he remembers: "Most of us would roll out of bed and stumble into the lecture hall as our first activity of the day, and for Rochelle, she was already up and running and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for hours before any of us ever saw the light of day.". The bottom line continues to be very, very simple: While fully vaccinated individuals have a high degree of protection against serious illness from COVID-19, including the Delta variant, unvaccinated Americans are not protected against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. And when we get enough information to make that decision, then that decision will be forthcoming. She gained a reputation as a rigorous researcher and a generous mentor, particularly to young women. Statement from Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Incoming CDC chief tells her family they'll be wearing masks for the Media Statement. And so as we see reentry into respiratory viruses and as areas around the country are turning from green to yellow to orange, we have said - orange really does indicate that there is a lot of infection in the community, that there's a lot of severe disease coming into the hospital and that many of the beds in the hospitals are really now occupied by people with COVID-19. director he chose would be free to make scientifically grounded decisions without interference from politicians. Rochelle Walensky is not good at this - Washington Post would no longer bend to political meddling. But the agency stumbled in February when a test for the virus sent to states proved to be flawed. So, just curious if you can offer any additional color.MR. They will know that she knows what its like to be at the bedside of a very sick patient, he said. The question is, how does she acknowledge those and learn from those and move forward from there?. Statement from CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH We'll open the windows for people, increase ventilation if we can. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. She served on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted research on vaccine delivery and strategies to reach underserved communities. And where Dr. Redfield was reticent, Dr. Walensky has often taken a surprisingly direct approach. And that is to get your COVID-19 vaccine, get your influenza vaccine and to do so now because you'll be - if you get it now, you'll be protected by the holidays. And our biggest concern is that we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations, and, sadly, deaths among the unvaccinated.Lastly, I want to reiterate the importance of getting fully vaccinated. Under him, the agency quietly made changes to its guidance, sometimes dictated by the Trump administration, with no public announcement. She is involved in a medical discussion on the best strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve herd immunity. Were seeing more and more nurses and health care providers say theyd rather wait to accept the vaccine, Dr. Jos Romero, chairman of the panel, said at the meeting Saturday. At the same time, we have an increase in cases and the existence of the Delta variant. But she has emerged as a prominent voice on the pandemic, sometimes criticizing certain aspects of the state and national response. Dr. Kenneth Freedberg was standing at his wife's bedside in a Boston hospital's intensive care unit when an . Q Hi. is demonstrably different from that of her predecessor, Dr. Robert R. Redfield. Rochelle Paula Walensky ( ne Bersoff; born April 5, 1969) is an American physician-scientist who is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The nurses survey was done in the first half of October, before data came out from Pfizer and Modernas large-scale clinical trials showing that the vaccines had no serious safety concerns and were 95% effective. Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo (Pool/Reuters) The director of . The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Georgetowns Westmoreland called for a law or other measure to prohibit political appointees from having editorial review of CDC science and to ban them from controlling when the agency releases information. And are we seeing any breakthrough infections among more vulnerable people who have been vaccinated who might have been around younger people? So what Rochelle is particularly good at is understanding data about treatments and public health and costs, and putting those three sets of data together to understand, 'Well, what do we do? After medical school, Rochelle Walensky trained in a hospital medical unit so tough it was compared to the Marines. I cant imagine the CDC and the country being luckier mostly just because you can communicate, which is such an important task for the head of the CDC, he said. Walensky, an HIV researcher, has not worked at the CDC or at a state or local health department. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Center for Disease Prevention and Control Director Rochelle Walensky about the "tripledemic.". To rebuild CDC, Biden picks Rochelle Walensky The chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital will take a top role in helping the new administration curtail the . Health misinformation is false, inaccurate, or misleading information about health according to the best evidence at the time. Later that week, new guidance from the agency said that vaccinated people could safely travel, but Dr. Walensky added that the agency did not actually want them to travel at all, a stance that left some Americans perplexed. The job, he noted, has a steep learning curve. Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden. Rochelle Paula Walensky is an American physician-scientist who is the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.