President Biden will nominate former North Carolina Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen, who steered the state through the first two years of the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic, as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to two people familiar with the matter. It is planned. selection process.
Dr. Cohen’s choice The Washington Post first reported, is not final. Another person familiar with the selection process said the White House is still finalizing the paperwork needed to formalize the appointment. But Dr. Cohen is the frontrunner, the person said.
The White House declined to comment. Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If Biden appoints, internist Dr. Cohen will replace infectious disease specialist Dr. Rochelle P. Wallensky, who announced he was stepping down at the end of June. Dr. Wallenski led the CDC through difficult times. The institution has been demoralized under President Donald J. Trump and drawn heavy criticism under both Trump and Biden.
Dr. Cohen, who served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services under Gov. Roy Cooper from 2017 to 2021, has maintained public trust despite deep political divisions and has remained a friendly and stable voice. has established herself, said people who worked with her.
Dr. Cohen addressed the topic of trust last month at the University of Guildford, North Carolina, for graduates. her graduation speech. “Change comes at a pace of trust,” she said, adding that while scaring people can motivate them to change their behavior, “fear alone has its limits.”
One of Dr. Cohen’s advantages is that, unlike Dr. Warensky, she has experience in the federal government. Before she became North Carolina’s Secretary of Health, she held several positions in the Obama administration, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Cohen currently serves on the board of Aledade, a company that provides support to physicians and community clinics.
Congress passed a bill last year that would require the CDC director to be approved by the Senate, but the provision won’t go into effect until 2025, so Cohen could take office soon.
“Mundy Cohen is determined to ensure my administration gets through the pandemic and places North Carolina among the states with the lowest death toll and job losses per capita,” Cooper said in a statement. He helped me,” he said. “She’s brilliant, talented, a seasoned leader and would make a great CDC director.”
Public health professionals who know Dr. Cohen well or have worked with her say her experience leading North Carolina’s pandemic response and her years of service with federal agencies are hugely important to the CDC director. Said it would be an asset. The CDC has been repeatedly criticized for her confusing messages during the pandemic, but Dr. Cohen has garnered praise for being a clear communicator.
“North Carolina is a purple state, and this, you know, has to do with when we were in a highly politicized public health emergency,” said chief medical officer at Maven Clinic, a digital healthcare provider. Dr. Neil Shah, the person in charge, said. I’ve known Dr. Cohen since we were both inmates at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Cohen said, “You’ve done a great job of making such a climate impact.”
In public health circles, Dr. Cohen is known for creating innovative programs, such as workarounds that allow state governments to workarounds. spend medicaid dollars Helping low-income people with housing, food security and other needs that may affect their health.
“People talk about North Carolina in excited voices,” says Joshua, associate dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who has worked closely with Dr. Johns Hopkins. Dr. M. Scharfstein said, Cohen was the Maryland Health Secretary and she was a federal employee.
Scharfstein said the pandemic has revealed a deep divide between public health and medical care, which Cohen is trying to bridge, including by having primary care physicians provide preventive care. Stated.
“There are many opportunities at the intersection of healthcare and public health, but the CDC has failed to capitalize on those opportunities,” he said.
