FDA Policy/General

Hahn, Fauci and Redfield Quarantine After Exposure

FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn, CDC director Robert Redfield and NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci are under quarantine after being exposed to an unidentified White House staffer who tested positive for Covid-19. The three members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force are scheduled to testify before a Senate hearing 5/12 and they intend to appear through a video connection.

The White House is in damage control as it struggles to contain Covid-19 exposure after president Trump’s valet and vice president Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller both tested positive for the virus last week. The most recent publicly-disclosed meeting of the White House task force was 5/7.

Before announcing his quarantine in an email to staff (see below) on 5/8, Hahn participated in the agency’s annual “Classic Run/Walk” for employees, which was held in a virtual capacity. This year the event was dubbed “United We Walk, United We Run, United We Stand Against Covid-19,” and more than 5,200 FDA employees participated, Hahn said in a Twitter posting, which showed him holding his granddaughter and rescue dog Baci.

5/8 email to FDA Staff:

Dear Colleagues,

In the spirit of transparency, today I learned that I recently came into contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Per CDC guidelines, I am now in self-quarantine for the next two weeks and take this responsibility seriously. Thankfully, I was able to immediately take a diagnostic test and I have tested negative for the virus. I am also happy to report that I feel perfectly healthy—like many of you today, I participated in the FDA Classic and felt great. I hope you and your family are healthy and safe. Please take care of yourselves. I will be working from home, but also closely monitoring my health as well as my family’s, and will let you know if there are any updates. Thank you for all that you do for the FDA and the American people. #FDAStrong

Sincerely,

Stephen M. Hahn, M.D.Commissioner of Food and Drugs

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