A Steep Learning Curve in Messaging for CDC’s Walensky

Several management officials said the crux of the issue was the failure of the CDC and Biden administration’s messaging experts to work in harmony. Who is to blame for this is a matter of debate. Dr. Critics of Walensky say he is not cooperative enough, often struggling to defend the decisions of other federal officials publicly later on. Its proponents say it’s trying to achieve coordination, but it’s not their job to achieve consensus across the entire administration.

Some argue that the White House has gone too far in its release of scientists approach, leaving a leadership vacuum and forcing ad-hoc coordination among various public health agencies. This was exacerbated by Xavier Becerra, a health secretary who received routine briefings from scientists but did not resolve interagency disputes over the pandemic response.

The administration’s best-known spokesperson on the pandemic, Dr. Fauci has at times muddied the waters further, publicly opposing the CDC, as he has done this week, or making statements that he would later back off.

In late December, for example, he said the vaccination requirement for domestic travelers should be seriously considered, leaving the White House to ask a bunch of questions about a policy he wasn’t prepared to recommend. He later said that a mission is unlikely.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it was appropriate for the CDC to change its guidelines, and for one thing, “schools would probably have been closed across the country if they hadn’t changed the recommendations over time.”

However, Dr. Even some of Walensky’s own agency agree that the CDC’s public statements about the pandemic have repeatedly fallen short, long after experts said the agency should dominate clear and concise public messages about the worst public health crisis in a century.

The handling of the isolation manual was a case study of how to confuse the public. And the debate isn’t over: healthcare professionals continued to criticize the CDC’s decision Wednesday not to recommend Covid patients a negative test before ending a five-day isolation.