Senior health official Nancy Messonnier resigned from her position at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency's Director Rochelle Walensky said on Friday.
"She has made significant contributions to public health and leaves behind a legacy of strong leadership and courage," Walensky said in an emailed statement, noting that she had received the resignation this morning.
Messonnier's resignation is effective May 14, the Washington Post reported earlier on Friday.
The health official, who warned the United States about the COVID-19 pandemic last year, has been the director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases since 2016.
Meantime, President Joe Biden has showed sharp reversal of the previous U.S. position, affirming his support behind waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines.
In remarks to reporters, Biden voiced his support for a waiver which followed swiftly by a statement from his top trade negotiator, Katherine Tai, who backed negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” Tai said in a statement.
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