The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is requesting documents and a briefing from the newly appointed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen, about potential upcoming COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. 

The panel’s request comes in response to an interview Dr. Cohen did with Spectrum News in which she said the agency is likely to come out with guidance that Americans should get an annual COVID-19 booster to protect against the coronavirus.

What You Need To Know

  • The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is requesting documents and a briefing from the newly appointed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen

  • The panel’s requests came in response to an interview Dr. Cohen did with Spectrum News in which she said the agency is likely to come out with guidance that Americans should get an annual COVID-19 booster to protect against the coronavirus

  • Appointed by President Joe Biden, Dr. Cohen officially took over as director of the CDC last month following the departure of Dr. Rochelle Walensky 

“We’re just on the precipice of that, so I don’t want to get ahead of where our scientists are here and doing that evaluation work, but yes we anticipate that COVID will become similar to flu shots, where it is going to be you get your annual flu shot and you get your annual COVID shot,” Dr. Cohen told Spectrum News at the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta last week.

“We’re not quite there yet, but stay tuned,” Cohen added. “I think within the next couple of weeks, month we’re going to hear more from our experts on COVID shots.”

In a letter addressed to Dr. Cohen on Wednesday, the COVID committee’s Chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said if such guidance occurred “it will mark a significant change in federal policy and guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccines and the way in which they are utilized.” 

Wenstrup went on to request the CDC provide the committee with documents regarding any communication between the agency, the White House and other departments on the potential annual vaccine recommendation. 

He also asked that the committee be briefed on the subject next week. 

 

Appointed by President Joe Biden, Dr. Cohen officially took over as director of the CDC last month following the departure of Dr. Rochelle Walensky. 

Dr. Cohen became a household name in North Carolina during the height of the pandemic, leading the Tar Heel State’s Department of Health and Human Services.

She is stepping into the role at a low-point in the public’s trust in the agency – one that was at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Well before Dr. Cohen’s tenure at the CDC began, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in Sept. 2022 it was becoming “increasingly clear” that the U.S. would move toward annual COVID shots.