New CDC Director, Acting CMS Head Take Over Other Health Agencies

AP: New CDC Director Takes Over Beleaguered Agency Amid Crisis
The task falls to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, 51, an infectious-diseases specialist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, who was sworn in Wednesday. She takes the helm at a time when the virus’s U.S. death toll has eclipsed 400,000 and continues to accelerate. While the agency has retained some of its top scientific talent, public health experts say, it has a long list of needs, including new protection from political influence, a comprehensive review of its missteps during the pandemic and more money to beef up basic functions like disease tracking and genetic analysis. (Stobbe, 1/21)

Boston Globe: Former MGH Doctor Rochelle Walensky, Now Head Of CDC, Says There’s Work To Be Done But Better Days Lie Ahead
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday that coronavirus testing, surveillance, and vaccinations must be stepped up to stop a pandemic that has had a “truly heartbreaking” impact on the country. Walensky, formerly chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said she recognized “the seriousness of the moment. The toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on America is truly heartbreaking — for the loss of our loved ones and our beloved ways of life.” “At Massachusetts General Hospital, I saw firsthand the many difficulties this pandemic brings to our frontline workers and first responders, hospitals and public health systems, communities, and loved ones,” she said in a statement on her first day as CDC director. (Finucane, 1/20)

Stat: Longtime Becerra Aide And Two Health Policy Experts Tapped For Key Posts
President-elect Biden and his top health deputies are expected to make a slew of new political appointments Wednesday. Sean McCluskie, a longtime deputy of health secretary nominee Xavier Becerra’s, will be the agency’s chief of staff, three health industry lobbyists, a consultant for the transition, and a health care expert tell STAT. (Florko and Facher, 1/20)

Modern Healthcare: Elizabeth Richter Will Serve As Acting CMS Administrator
Elizabeth Richter will serve as acting administrator for CMS, according to the agency's website on Wednesday. The career civil servant previously served as CMS' deputy center director, leading policy development and operations management for Medicare's fee-for-service program since 2007. She has held several roles focused on Medicare payment issues since she joined the agency in 1990. Healthcare insiders have waited with bated breath for Biden to announce his pick for CMS administrator. But he hasn't done it yet, even though the agency's Medicare and Medicaid programs cover nearly 1 in 3 Americans. CMS' budget is more than $1 trillion, accounting for over a quarter of federal spending. (Brady and Kim Cohen, 1/20)

Politico: Biden Leaves Top FDA Job Open Amid Vaccine Push
President Joe Biden assumes office with an arsenal of health care veterans leading his coronavirus response — but his team’s handwringing has left an agency central to the pandemic fight without a permanent leader. Public health experts and Biden’s own advisers have called for a strong chief at the Food and Drug Administration to help insulate the agency from public pressure and aid the new president in his goal of vaccinating 100 million people during his first days in office. But the debate on who should get the FDA’s top job has dragged on for months, with Biden's team unable to settle on a nominee. (Owermohle, Cancryn and Kenen, 1/20)

Stat: The 10 Biden Officials To Watch On The Covid-19 Response 
President Biden has promised to listen to the experts on Covid-19, but their messages may be hard to hear if too many are talking at once. Already, Biden has tasked dozens of scientists, administrators, and policymakers with reining in a raging pandemic. As the Biden transition segues from planning to governing, those individuals will have to coalesce into a cohesive unit for them to enjoy the success the new president has promised. (Cohrs, 1/21)

In related news —

Stat: Biden Dissolves Covid-19 Panel That Advised His Transition
President Biden’s coronavirus advisory board is disbanding, according to two of its members. The group, which Biden introduced almost immediately after he was elected president in November, consisted of leading doctors, researchers, and public health experts. (Facher, 1/20)

Politico: Surgeon General To Step Down As Biden Requested 
[President] Joe Biden has asked for the resignation of Surgeon General Jerome Adams, bringing the tenure of the nation's top doctor to an abrupt end as Biden looks to reboot the federal government's pandemic response. Adams confirmed his plans to step down in a tweet on Wednesday morning, calling it the “honor of my life to serve this Nation.” (Cancryn and Ollstein, 1/20)

AP: Judge Drops Virus Related Case Against US Surgeon General
A judge in Honolulu dismissed charges Wednesday against U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams after he was cited for allegedly violating local coronavirus restrictions while in Hawaii to help with COVID-19 surge testing efforts. Honolulu prosecutors submitted a motion Tuesday to dismiss charges against Adams after he was charged with being in a closed park during Hawaii’s summertime spike in coronavirus cases. (1/21)

The New York Times: Ex-C.D.C. Chief On Challenge Of Serving Trump During Pandemic 
Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [left] his post at noon on Wednesday. "I encourage the president-elect to focus on his pledge to get 100 million people vaccinated in 100 days," he said in an interview. "I’m glad we gave him a foundation to build on. Last week, we had two days when we vaccinated one million people a day. We laid a foundation for vaccine administration. I find it unfortunate when some people suggest that the vaccine program delivering one million a day is somehow a disaster — but it will be a model when the Biden administration does it." (Kaplan, 1/20)