U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday visited the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to discuss issues including the Marburg virus and a new global health bureau he is establishing outside of CDC, in the Department of State. But his agenda was overshadowed when news broke that CDC Director Rochelle Walensky was resigning.
As the news was spreading, Blinken and Walensky arrived behind schedule to the CDC’s emergency operations center, where Blinken was to meet with CDC staff after a brief tour. Passing by reporters, photographers and TV cameras, they continued with their tour and made no mention of the resignation.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
They discussed COVID-19 metrics, the effort to distribute vaccines worldwide, and a U.S. program to fight AIDS globally established by President George W. Bush. Behind them stood the center’s large video screens, set to an image of a mostly green map of the U.S.: indicating little spread of COVID currently in the nation.
“The green map,” Walensky said, smiling. She has said her reason for resigning now was the COVID pandemic’s ebb.
Following their closed-door meeting with CDC staff, Blinken and Walensky toured the CDC’s museum. Walking over to an exhibit on the Ebola virus, Walensky declined to answer an AJC reporter’s question about her resignation.
Walensky had already announced her decision at a CDC staff meeting Friday. Her last day will be June 30. No replacement has been named.
Blinken told reporters that her resignation’s timing with his visit was a coincidence. He praised her leadership, and the CDC’s collaboration with his department, noting that there are CDC experts in more than 60 U.S. embassies.
The global health bureau at the Department of State was needed, he said, “to make sure that we’re marshaling all our resources in effectively responding to global health challenges.”
“The thing that we’ve learned powerfully in recent years is that health security is national security,” Blinken said. “We know that when health security breaks down, it’s almost inevitably going to have an impact on our national security,” he said, citing mass migrations and instability following outbreaks.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
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