Dr. Rochelle P. Wallensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, defended the authorities’ new guidance on Friday to reduce the quarantine period for people infected with the coronavirus from 10 days to 5 days. I have. “
Dr. Wallensky responded to criticism that the agency’s message was confusing and opaque during the sometimes controversial telephone briefing with reporters, and she has appeared in 80 White House briefings since taking office. He said he sometimes asked multiple questions. Several times a week.
Friday’s press conference was held after former President Donald J. Trump put an end to them in February 2020, as variants of Omicron continue to cause a dramatic surge in cases of coronavirus. It was rare and noteworthy as the first briefing of an institution independent of the White House.
“I’ve heard that you’re interested in listening independently of the CDC,” Dr. Wallensky said, adding that he hopes the briefing will be the first of many. Many reporters seeking information on the complex decisions made by the authorities repeatedly thanked her.
Dr. Warensky, an inexperienced and acclaimed infectious disease expert who was appointed to lead the CDC at the beginning of the Biden administration, has faced many challenges. The reputation and morals of the institution were often hit by the Trump White House, which tried to thwart its scientific decisions.
Now that the country is heading into its third year of a viral pandemic, Dr. Warrensky said he “always threw a curve ball” exhausted to healthcare professionals and government officials at the forefront of the response. ..
“We are all proud to be able to respond to the greatest public health crisis of our lifetime,” Dr. Henry Walk, director of the CDC’s Preparation and Emerging Infectious Diseases Division, told Dr. Warensky. Joined the. call. “Yes, it’s exhausted. And it’s challenging, but good. Wow, it’s time to lean forward.”
The presence of Dr. Walk on Cole was also unusual. CDC career scientists haven’t attended the press conference since Mr. Trump ended them. Mr. Trump was furious, and Dr. Nancy Mesonier, then director of the CDC’s National Center for Vaccination and Respiratory Medicine, warned at a press conference that the coronavirus would seriously disrupt the lives of Americans. Dr. Meissonier left the CDC last year.
Dr. Wallensky recently faced intense criticism of the failure of a series of messages issued last week. The latest was related to new guidance for quarantine. Public health experts have criticized the failure to recommend that people infected with the virus be negative before the shortened five-day quarantine period ends.
Dr. Anthony S. Forch, the president’s chief medical adviser to the pandemic, and Dr. Vivek Mercy, the surgeon’s chief, openly opposed the CDC’s failure to include test recommendations, further confusing the matter. This week, the CDC revealed that if people have access to the tests, they can take them.
CNN reported on Friday that Dr. Warensky was looking for media training this fall. An agency spokesman said it was “not unusual” for the agency’s director. Dr. Warensky himself said, “We are committed to continuing to improve to learn more about science and share it with you.”
At a briefing on Friday, Dr. Valensky faced a barrage of sometimes conflicting questions, such as the confusion about guidance and its scientific basis. She said it was based on scientific reviews of dozens of papers analyzing the infectivity of coronavirus, but admitted that many of them were based on variants other than Omicron.
She said it would take weeks for scientists to obtain detailed experimental data on Omicron. It also includes data on whether people infected with highly contagious variants are likely to be infected again.
“We have signs that if you had Delta, you are susceptible to Omicron,” she said, referring to early delta variants of the virus. However, she said there is still no data to suggest that “Omicron protects from Omicron.”
