January 6, 2004

Dear NIP Staff:

After more than 26 years of working in the immunization program, I am planning to retire, effective March 1, 2004. Following my retirement from CDC, I will be taking a position with the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University working on vaccine policy issues and clinical vaccine development efforts. To assure a smooth transition, beginning January 12, Steve Cochi will assume the position of Acting Director of the National Immunization Program and Dr. Melinda Wharton will serve as the Acting Deputy Director of the National Immunization Program. During January and February, I will serve as a special advisor to Dr. Cochi.

My career at CDC has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have been privileged to be part of many successful efforts to protect and improve the public’s health; each of which provided an opportunity to work together and in partnership with persons and groups throughout CDC, the United States, and the world. During my time at CDC, I witnessed the eradication of smallpox, the elimination of endemic transmission of measles in the United States, and the achievement of record or near record lows for almost all of the childhood vaccine-preventable diseases. And importantly, we have achieved and maintained record or near record high levels of immunization coverage for childhood vaccines.

As I reflect on my time at NIP, I see many accomplishments that we can point to with much pride and satisfaction. Children with meningitis from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), once a common occurrence on pediatric wards, have become a rarity. There are fewer than 20 cases of acquired rubella reported each year in the United States, down from over 57,000 cases in 1969 when rubella vaccine was first licensed. Marked gains have been made against varicella and invasive pneumococcal disease in children. It’s been an honor and a privilege to have been a part of these successes.

I’m also thankful to the many people and organizations I’ve been able to work with during my tenure at CDC. Ultimately, people are what determine the success and effectiveness of NIP and CDC programs—and I’ve been able to work with a wide range of skilled and talented people. As Director of the National Immunization Program, I have repeatedly witnessed NIP’s personnel playing vital and effective roles designing, implementing, managing, supporting, and evaluating our programs and efforts. The people at NIP should be very proud of their efforts and accomplishments.

The list of achievements by NIP staff is impressive in both its length and scope. While our primary focus has been on childhood immunization, NIP’s personnel also have made major contributions to protecting adults from vaccine-preventable diseases; helped define the barriers to vaccine use and identify effective immunization strategies; expanded vaccine safety efforts and activities, and in the process, helped make vaccine safety activities a fundamental part of our immunization program; fostered and modeled effective, comprehensive approaches to health and risk communications; and promoted the effective use of information technology, including immunization registries.

On the international front, NIP staff, working in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Rotary International, UNICEF and many other partners, have reduced the number of polio cases worldwide from about 350,000 cases in 1988 to less than 700 in 2003. Furthermore, the number of countries with endemic polio has been reduced from 125 in 1988 to only 6 at the end of 2003. Polio eradication should occur in the near future. Measles, the greatest vaccine-preventable killer of children in the world today, appears to be no longer endemic in the western hemisphere. And a worldwide plan for reducing measles mortality with new strategies for effective use of measles vaccine is being implemented with promising results.

CDC and NIP’s efforts also entail working with a wide range of partners—and here again, I’ve been privileged to work with many outstanding organizations. These include the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association, the National Association of City and County Health Officers (NACCHO), Every Child By Two (ECBT), the Immunization Action Coalition, the National Partnership for Immunization, the Task Force for Child Survival, the National Alliance on Hispanic Health, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and many others. And on the international front, I’ve been privileged to work with, among others, the Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization, the American Red Cross, and UNICEF.

I’m looking forward to the new chapter in my life, but I leave NIP and CDC confident that both are in the hands of highly skilled and qualified colleagues. At NIP, each and every staff member contributes to our mission and to our success—and it truly has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with each of you. I have grown personally and professionally thanks to our interactions. And it is especially rewarding to know that you are well equipped to lead NIP into the future.

I look forward to continued interactions with NIP in my new position at Emory and wish you the best in your continuing efforts to assure that people do not suffer needlessly from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Walt