Deborah Birx Salary: Coronavirus Coordinator Among Highest-Paid In CDC, Earned $275,000 In 2018

Deborah Birx’s salary is among the highest at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here is how she started her career and built a reputation as one of the best in the health industry.

Birx became a social media sensation after videos of her reaction to President Donald Trump’s remark on how to treat coronavirus went viral. She is appointed as the response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, per MarketWatch. As one of the faces of the government in dealing with the pandemic, alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci, curiosity about her and her background suddenly increased.

Birx is an expert in HIV/AIDS vaccine research. Her body of work spent on finding a cure for the disease spans more than three decades. Before fighting COVID-19, she worked first as a military-trained clinician in immunology after earning her stripes at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health. Because of her contributions, Birx was given some military recognitions such as the U.S. Meritorious Service Medals and the Legion of Merit award.

Given her military training and position as a colonel, it’s no surprising that Birx really knows how to get things done. When former President George Bush launched the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) during his term, Birx fought tooth and nail to have the military included in the program. The top immunologist has been leading PEPFAR for more than five years now.

When it comes to compensations, Birx started with $225,000 in 2008 as a medical officer in Atlanta. Her salary slowly increased over the years. In 2018, she received $274,908 as a leading healthcare expert in Washington. This makes her one of the top earning employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No one can dispute her contributions in advancing the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide. She is credited in leading almost 1,900 people working for CDC’s PEPFAR which has 45 country and regional offices. Among the awards she received were Lifetime Achievement Award from the African Society for Laboratory Medicine and William C. Watson, Jr. Medal of Excellence. According to State.gov, Birx published at least 220 manuscripts and she’s also responsible for various chapters in scientific publications.

As the U.S. continues to battle COVID-19, Birx reiterates the need for social distancing and heeding the call of the health experts to stay at home. She reached out to the Millennials and claimed they are the key in containing the spread of the disease, in a report published by the U.S. News. “Millennials are the key, because they are the ones that are out and about. They are the ones that are most likely to be asymptomatic," she added.

The public is clamoring for the lockdown to be lifted and the economy to be reopened since these would be beneficial to everyone. But for top experts like Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci, it is better to be safe than sorry.