CDC Director Rochelle Walensky tests positive for COVID-19 month after getting updated booster shot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday that Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky had tested positive for COVID-19. 

She is experiencing mild symptoms and is up to date with her vaccines.

“Consistent with CDC guidelines, she is isolating at home and will participate in her planned meetings virtually. CDC senior staff and close contacts have been informed of her positive test and are taking appropriate action to monitor their health,” the CDC said in an emailed statement.

In September, the director received her bivalent, omicron-specific COVID-19 booster shot. 

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In a CVS Health tweet, she was seen posing for a photo following the shot with a thumbs up.

Walensky and health officials have warned the American public about an upcoming winter surge of COVID-19 infections. 

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They’ve called on the U.S. to get the booster before the end of the month. 

Following a meeting between federal officials and leading organizations representing America’s physicians, nurse practitioners and physician associates, the White House said there was “broad agreement that the single-most important thing Americans, particularly the elderly, can do to protect themselves and their loved ones from COVID-19 and serious illness is to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine without delay.”

In a September statement, Walensky said that boosters would provide broad protection against sublineages.

“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant. They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants,” she said.