Mississippi’s top health official says he’s not going to the CDC
By Gwen Dilworth | Originally published by Mississippi Today
State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said on Wednesday that while he was honored to have been considered to lead the nation’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he is not seeking a new role.
“Where my mindset is, is serving the people of Mississippi as their state health officer,” Edney said to reporters following a state Board of Health meeting in Jackson. “This is a job that I love. I’ve made it clear to everyone I’ve talked to, I’m not looking for another post. But this is a post of high significance and high impact and we’re making progress in Mississippi. I love being the state health officer and I’m very happy.”
The Washington Post reported March 22 that Edney was among about half a dozen people the Trump administration was considering as its nominee for the position, including former Kentucky Republican governor Dr. Ernie Fletcher and Johns Hopkins cardiologist Dr. Joseph Marine. Edney noted Wednesday that he did not put his name forward for the role.
On March 25, the deadline to appoint a new director of the nation’s top public health agency, the Trump administration delayed naming a candidate.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, has served as acting director of the agency since February and will continue to oversee the CDC by performing the “delegable duties of the CDC director” until the agency has a permanent director.
The post has been vacant since August, when President Donald J. Trump dismissed former director Susan Monarez, an immunologist, roughly a month after she was confirmed. She testified in September that she was ousted because she resisted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s orders to fire top scientists at the agency or pre-approve vaccine recommendations.
The agency can only be led by an acting director for 210 days unless a nomination for the role is submitted to pause the clock.
The next director of the CDC will take over an agency that has gone for months without a permanent leader, endured a fatal shooting, faced major staff reductions and undergone significant policy changes, particularly over vaccines. At least 2,400 employees, or 18% of the agency’s workforce, have been fired or resigned since January 2025, according to a recent report from The New York Times.
Public health experts said Edney, who has served as Mississippi’s state health officer since August 2022, would have represented a more customary candidate for director of the nation’s top public health agency, which has been turned on its head during the current Trump administration’s leadership.
Edney has been a vocal advocate for evidence-based policy and vaccination, particularly as childhood vaccination rates in Mississippi have declined following a 2023 federal court ruling that allowed parents to opt out of vaccinating their children on religious grounds.
Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s former chief medical officer who resigned in protest in 2025 following Monarez’ termination, said in an email March 25 that while she does not know Edney personally, his record shows that he follows science and data and has made improvements in public health in Mississippi.
“In usual times, he would be more of the traditional pick for CDC director,” Houry said.
Edney replaced Dr. Thomas Dobbs as Mississippi’s top health officer. Edney previously served as the state agency’s deputy state health officer and chief medical officer and worked closely with Dobbs on the department’s COVID-19 response.
He is also a former president of the Mississippi State Medical Association and former board member of the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure. He was in private practice in Vicksburg for over 30 years, and is a board-certified general internist with a subspecialty board certification in addiction medicine.
During his tenure at the Mississippi State Department of Health, the agency has seen some improvements in public health, rising to 48th in one national ranking of 99 health measures released annually by United Health Foundation.
This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Source: Original Article
