CDC deputy director Jennifer Shuford to leave on November 12

Jennifer Shuford, deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will leave the agency on November 12, according to reports published October 27 and 28. Shuford, whom President Donald Trump appointed, said she was departing to spend more time with her family.¹²³

Departure and succession

Shuford’s departure will also leave her chief medical officer position vacant. According to The Guardian, Satish Pillai would temporarily take on the duties of deputy director and chief medical officer as the leadership team searches for a successor. The reports identify a temporary replacement, but do not name a permanent successor.¹

“I am leaving to spend more time with my family,” Shuford said in a statement quoted by The Guardian. She also expressed thanks to Trump and US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr for the opportunity to serve in the agency’s leadership.¹

CDC director Erica Schwartz circulated Shuford’s statement and announced the departure. AP, in a report carried by NBC New York, said Schwartz praised Shuford in an internal message. The Guardian likewise reported Schwartz’s appreciation for Shuford’s leadership and her work at the CDC.¹³

Different accounts of her tenure

The outlets differ on the length of Shuford’s service. The New York Times and the AP report described her departure as coming after four months in the role. The Guardian put her tenure at six months and reported that Trump appointed her in April to a four-person senior leadership team.¹²³

The New York Times described Shuford as a former Texas health official appointed to help steady the CDC. According to The Guardian, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials welcomed her appointment. The available accounts do not resolve the difference in how her time in office was calculated.¹²³

Further leadership turnover

AP presented the resignation as part of a wider series of leadership changes across federal health agencies. The Guardian reported that former CDC director Susan Monarez had left that position less than a month after taking office. It also reported that the agency had lost one-third of its workforce.¹³

The Guardian’s account also described changes to vaccine oversight under Kennedy. The newspaper said Kennedy removed each of the 17 experts on the CDC panel that advises on vaccines and replaced them with people it characterized as sharing his ideological outlook. Separately, the newspaper reported 48 distinct measles outbreaks in the United States, with Pennsylvania particularly affected.¹