WALENSKY: We know that, you know, as variants have progressed, they have evaded immunity more and more. First, lets go to Carl ODonnell at Reuters. Anyone can read what you share. 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. But very importantly, technology companies must act as well. For months, on these briefings, weve talked about barriers to getting vaccinated. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Revamping the CDC | Time So, wondering if you all can paint a picture of who is actually being hospitalized by the Delta variant. CHANG: I mean, why isn't the CDC more strongly recommending masking in public places right now, during this so-called tripledemic? Retrospectively, when you look at the negative reaction of so many people, so many organizations, you have to come to the conclusion that it could have been done better, he said. Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe, via Getty Images. Now 51 years old, Walensky has long been a doctor on a mission first, to fight AIDS around the world, and now, to shore up the CDC and get the United States through the pandemic. Or is that just a must have decision by date. Next slide. Dr. Walensky joined the faculty of Harvard University in 2001, where she worked on health policy for infectious diseases, particularly H.I.V. CDC director, under fire for confusing guidance, seeks to reshape I think we're still going to have, after we vaccinate 100 million Americans, we're going to have 200 million more that we're going to need to vaccinate.". floundered at the beginning of the pandemic, pilloried for its botched coronavirus test and antiquated data systems. And, after weeks of declines, seven-day average daily deaths have increased by 26 percent to 211 per day.Today, Dr. Fauci and I want to provide some perspective about these numbers and how we should be thinking about where we are at this critical moment in the pandemic.There is a clear message that is coming through: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Redfield made appearances, but he was often a third-tier speaker after remarks dominated by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and others. 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. Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team. You don't need to wait for CDC's recommendation, certainly, to wear a mask. Dr. Redfield did not respond, and later in the year the agency suspended diversity training programs following an executive order from the Trump administration. is demonstrably different from that of her predecessor, Dr. Robert R. Redfield. "A vaccine may feel unnecessary. Im going to pause here, Im going to lose the script and Im going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom, she said, her eyes glistening with tears. She had a warm, empathetic leadership style, said Dr. Kenneth Freedberg, an H.I.V. Back to you, Jeff. 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. She also serves as a co-director, medical practice evaluation center and also as director, program in epidemiology and outcomes research in infectious diseases. Dr. Rochelle Walensky Wiki, Age, Husband, Family, Salary, Net Worth MR. ZIENTS: Next question. And then, secondly, to Dr. Walenskys point a few minutes ago that this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated: How does that change the administrations response to the pandemic? Independent and rigorous scientific CDC and FDA processes will determine if and when boosters are needed and who might need a booster shot.I want to be clear: The science will guide this. 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. MODERATOR: Kaitlan Collins at CNN. And in November, she offered a sobering reality check from the front lines about current COVID-19 medical treatments: "When I think about the armamentarium of true drugs that we have that benefit people with this disease, it's pretty sparse," she said. Shes clear, articulate and she can deliver messages with a smile. Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Surgeon General Advisories are reserved for urgent public health threats. A Warner Bros. And if you are diagnosed early, we have antivirals that can be used to shorten your disease course and your disease severity. We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk. Lets go to Zeke Miller with AP. Every person matters. scientists are now routinely involved in conversations with the White House, where previously they were sidelined and silenced. Q Thank you all for doing this. 11:38 A.M. EDTTo view the COVID Press Briefing slides, visithttps://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/COVID-Press-Briefing_16July2021_for-transcript.pdf. WALENSKY: And we know that that's going to be really important for CHANG: So what is being done to increase vaccination among that particular group, people who are 70 years or older? Director's Page | About | CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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. 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. "I don't think we're going to feel it then. Her father, Edward Bersoff, was a mathematician and engineer at NASA; her mother, Carol Bersoff-Bernstein, was an executive at a technology company. We are ready for whatever the science tells us.We have secured enough vaccine supply, and, if needed, we will ensure Americans who might need a booster shot are able to get it quickly and easily. I saw professionals doing their jobs. You can just look at her and just by her presence know that she is both competent and dedicated, said Schaffner, a liaison representative on the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Technology companies have enabled misinformation to poison our information environment with little accountability to their users. Rochelle Walensky - Wikipedia She is recognized internationally for her work to improve HIV screening and care in South Africa. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, Walenski, Walenski, Walenski, Prominent Scientists: (i) Exact Sciences & Natural Sciences, Get to know Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Biden's CDC director pick, Parents are Carol Bersoff-Bernstein and Edward H. Bersoff. 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. And its great to be with all of you again today. 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. She has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ", 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. The longer we wait, the more lives we lose. "It was so baffling," she says. advice must be better attuned to the real world, critics say. Not completing the series puts those partially vaccinated at risk of illness. CHANG: So I want to start with what seems to be kind of just a common-sense measure against all three viruses right now, and that is masking. DR. FAUCI: Well, what we do know in the cases that were looked at: If you are vaccinated and you get infected, and you compare that person if youre an asymptomatic infected breakthrough vaccinated case and compare that to someone who is infected but not vaccinated and asymptomatic, the level of virus in the nasal pharynx of the vaccinated person is considerably less than the virus in the nasal pharynx of a person who is infected, unvaccinated, and asymptomatic. Despite a grueling workload of patient care and research, Dr. Walensky made it to her sons piano concerts, karate tournaments and half marathons, according to her husband. Her leadership of the C.D.C. Biddinger said he thinks health care workers attitudes might have changed since then. Dr. Rochelle is a member of Boston COVID-19 Advisory Board. "And when you get called during a code, your job is to be there to help.". ". There are two things happening at the same time, she said. My husband looked over. Walensky's family has a tradition of service, including a grandfather who served in World War II and rose to be a brigadier general. "We are experiencing incredibly sad days," she said in an interview in the spring. But if you are beyond that window, I want to reiterate: There is no bad time to get your second shot.Do it for yourself, your family, and for your community. Dr. Walensky was known as a tough-minded advocate for people with AIDS. Her sister, Dr. Susan Bersoff-Matcha, is a deputy director at the Food and Drug Administration. MR. ZIENTS: Well, thank you, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Walensky.Stepping back, we have come a long way in our fight against this virus. The C.D.C.'s New Leader Follows the Science. Is That Enough? I have to fix that.". Director | About | CDC 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. Rochelle Walensky (Rochelle Paula Walensky, MD, MPH) serves as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The respiratory virus RSV has been surging for weeks, sending kids to emergency rooms. We have to educate our own work force and answer their questions., He said Walensky struck the right note in her hospitals video when she said that even with the vaccine, we should manage our expectations in terms of taking off our masks.. 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. Fact check: Four times Walensky's comments were out of step - CNN Because when we did not have the large group of elderly people vaccinated, then the elderly people dominated the people who were hospitalized and got into trouble.Since we have more of a veil of protection among people because about 85 percent of people who are elderly, greater than 65 are vaccinated when you look at the relative number of people who get hospitalized, clearly, were seeing younger people, from a relative standpoint, more hospitalized than we were seeing before because of the shift of the veil of protection, which is much more dominant among the elderly.DR. An error occurred. CDC wants to change 'antiquated' rules that hamper agency's ability to 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. Younger unvaccinated people weve spoken to believe they will likely be fine if they get infected with coronavirus. President Joe Biden and members of his COVID task force are using personal stories to persuade young people get vaccinated following up on the Food and Drug Administration authorizing the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 earlier this month. And then well open it up for a few questions.Now, over to you, Dr. Walensky.DR. Its a science-based sell, and we have to stick with that, he said. Dr. Walensky also has her eye trained on racial equity in health care within the ranks of C.D.C. And then finally and really important is that - and my family knows this. What are you and your family doing? 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.. I just was wondering if you guys could share a little bit more detail on the current state of thinking around boosters. So, just curious if you can offer any additional color.MR. FAUCI: Well, with regard to the breakthrough infections that were seeing: So, certainly, we are seeing them, but you got to remember what the denominator of the vaccinated people are. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. had to walk back. " she recalls. Sister of Private, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochelle_Walensky. 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? "We now have 38,000 new infections, on average, per day. And communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well.You can see the patterns of local outbreaks in the slide of community transmission. Now a new CDC director is arriving to a mammoth task: reasserting the agency while the pandemic is in its deadliest phase yet and the nations largest-ever vaccination campaign is wracked by confusion and delays. In the last week, 10 percent of counties have moved into high transmission risk, in the red, and 7 percent of counties have moved into substantial risk, in the orange. ZIENTS: And, Kaitlan, on the second question, well defer to the FDA. And were seeing it in the data. 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. staff members. Staff scientists took the lead, holding regular news conferences to update the public on the emerging problem. She was brought up in Potomac, Maryland. ZIENTS: I just want to also be very crystal clear from an operational perspective: Were prepared for every scenario, including the possibility of boosters, if and when the science, as Dr. Fauci said, shows that they are needed. The CDC has been sidelined, has been maligned, has been a punching bag for many politicians in the outgoing administration. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Robert Redfield, Dr. Walenskys predecessor, in March 2020. That analytic skill has come in handy over the past year, as she has helped lead the pandemic response for her Boston hospital and for the state of Massachusetts. The ground is not nearly as stable as we thought it would be.. I know what its like to not be there when it happens," Biden said back in February to mark 500,000 American lives lost. She will succeed Dr. Robert Redfield, 69, who came to the CDC with a similar resume as an outsider from academia. It was the mid-'90s, and the AIDS epidemic was still raging. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the C.D.C. Stephenson is an infectious disease specialist and vaccine scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Khazarian-Installed CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Lies Whenever Her Here's what they learned (2020), NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: Two men have a conversation while socially distancing and wearing masks in Central Park during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on December 02, 2020 in New York City. But veterans in public health said such changes are expected after a leadership change and have occurred before. Q Thanks so much. And she likens the call she got from the Biden administration to a hospital alarm that goes off when a patient is in cardiac arrest. As someone who has lost 10 family members to COVID-19 and who wishes each and every day that they had had access to the vaccine, its painful to know that nearly every death we are seeing now from COVID-19 could have been prevented.

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