CDC official who issued early warnings about the threat of Covid will resign
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the health expert who was among the first to sound alarms about the threat posed to the U.S. by coronavirus, is resigning from her role at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, multiple outlets reported Friday.
Messonnier, who served as director of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases since 2016, will resign from the agency effective May 14, the outlets reported.
She will take on a new role as executive director for pandemic and public health systems at the Skoll Foundation, a California-based organization, she reportedly told colleagues in an email.
The CDC did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Messonnier's resignation, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
In early 2020, when fewer than 100 Covid cases had been reported in the U.S., Messonnier urged the nation to start preparing for a massive outbreak that would drastically affect normal life.
"I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming and that disruption to everyday life may be severe. But these are things that people need to start thinking about now," Messonnier said in February 2020.
Messonnier's stark warnings contrasted sharply with then-President Donald Trump's messaging at the same time. The former president had incorrectly tried to assure the nation that the small number of U.S. Covid cases "within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero" and will disappear "like a miracle."
More than 32,606,724 Covid infections have been reported in the U.S., and at least 580,076 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
