Former North Carolina health official is picked to be new CDC director

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The White House has selected a former North Carolina health official to be the new director of the nation’s top federal public health agency. Dr. Mandy Cohen has been picked to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. the White House announced her appointment Friday. She succeeds Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who last month announced she was resigning effective June 30. The Atlanta-based federal agency had long been seen as a global leader on disease control and a reliable source of health information. But polls showed the public trust has eroded. That’s partly as a result of the CDC’s missteps in dealing with COVID-19 and partly due to political attacks and misinformation campaigns.