David Kessler, Official Who Led Biden’s COVID-19 Response, to Retire

David Kessler, Department of Health and Human Services Chief Science Officer for Covid Response, answers a question during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss the ongoing federal response to COVID-19 in Washington on May 11, 2021. Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday announced the upcoming retirement of David Kessler, the chief science officer who led the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts for the last two years.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday that Kessler “worked tirelessly” for decades to address the country’s most challenging public health issues, noting that “his work during the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different.”