Rochelle Walensky of CDC Reacts to Criticism of Confusing COVID Guidelines, Says ‘This Is Hard’

Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confronted on Sunday with the view that the public’s “trust and confidence” in the CDC has plummeted recently amid a backdrop confusion about agency COVID-19 guidance.

Defending the ever-changing guidelines as a result of “continuously evolving science,” Walensky said, adding that it was “very difficult” to continuously provide up-to-date recommendations as the virus mutates and the pandemic rages. .

Appears on Fox News Sunday, Walensky was first pressed by the anchor Bret Baier on Questionable Statement by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor that more than 100,000 children are in “severe condition” with COVID-19, many of whom are on ventilators.

Walensky announced after confirming that there are currently only about 3,500 children hospitalized with the virus, about 15 times less than the number of children hospitalized.

After telling the CDC boss about the vaccine’s mission, the overall effectiveness of the vaccine, and the severity of the Omicron variant, Baier then wondered if the agency “values ​​natural immunity.” ” or not before criticizing the White House’s rhetoric against the unvaccinated.

“As recently as last week, President Biden called it a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated.’ According to your CDC data, the Omicron variant accounts for 95.4 percent of cases, Delta is 4.6 percent of cases,” said the veteran informant. “Again, people who are vaccinated are getting this infection, they are passing it on to others. Considering all that and these percentages, how is ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ a term that should be used? “

Pushing back, Walensky noted that vaccination still provides up to 70% protection against infection before pointing out that the majority of people who end up hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, even now. .

The Fox News host quickly turned around the growing criticism her company has faced through the latest isolation and testing guidelines.

“Dr. Walensky, you mentioned confusion about guidance and over the past year, obviously the most recent example is about isolation and testing, but the other guidance is about wearing a mask [and] he declared. “Before officially accepting this job, you emphasized that one of your main goals was to restore public trust. But in this moment, do you think it’s fair to say that public trust and confidence has gone down in the CDC? ”

Thanks to Baier for his question, Walensky went on to defend the CDC’s handling of COVID-19 recommendations. At the same time, she admits that recent times have been difficult.

“You know, this is hard,” she admitted. “We have an ever-evolving science with an ever-evolving variation, and it is my job to provide up-to-date guidance amid a rapidly increasing case scenario.”

Walensky continued: “That’s what we did, and I’m here to explain it to the American people. And I pledge to continue to do so and to keep improving. ”

Baier responded: “We appreciate you coming here, we really made it. “I just get the truth out there.”

Baier asked the question after CNN reported last week that Walensky was “seeking communications training” last fall amid “a series of messaging mistakes” in her position as CDC director. Over the past few months, according to CNN, Walensky has enlisted the help of Democratic senior communications adviser Mandy Grunwald.