Leana S. Wen

Washington, D.C.

Contributing columnist focusing on public health and health policy Education: California State University, Los Angeles, BS; Washington University School of Medicine, MD; University of Oxford, MSc Leana S. Wen, a Washington Post contributing columnist, writes on a broad range of topics with an emphasis on public health and health policy. Wen is a visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, where she is the distinguished fellow of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity. Previously, she served as Baltimore’s health commissioner and led the nation’s oldest continuously operating health department. A practicing emergency physician, she has also been a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School, founding director of patient-centered care research at George Washington University and president of Planned Parenthood. She is a frequent guest commentator on CNN, MSNBC and BBC. When she is not working, Wen is spending time with her toddler son, Eli, and baby daughter, Isabelle.

Latest from Leana S. Wen

Opinion

Four concepts to assess your personal risk as the U.S. reopens

We need to use common sense. Just because we can resume activities doesn’t mean we should.

May 21, 2020

Opinion

We’re retreating to a new strategy on covid-19. Let’s call it what it is.

We’re no longer trying to eliminate the virus. Instead, we are accepting that Americans will have to live with it.

May 13, 2020

Opinion

Six flaws in the arguments for reopening

U.S. case numbers have not declined as much as those in other countries because we have not applied the aggressive measures that some Asian and European countries have.

May 10, 2020

Opinion

As states reopen, here’s how you protect yourself from the coming surge

Don't let down your guard.

May 5, 2020

Opinion

Imagine if the coronavirus briefings went like this

All we're getting now is a daily spectacle followed by a news cycle of rebuttals and political fights.

Apr 29, 2020

Opinion

7 things the administration is getting wrong about testing

It's time to stop coming up with reasons not to test and to start coming up with a national strategy.

Apr 22, 2020

Opinion

Three key issues missing from Trump’s guidance on reopening the country

It's possible to reopen safely, but the Trump guidance gets us only partway to the goal.

Apr 17, 2020

Opinion

The one thing about giving birth during the covid-19 pandemic that I didn’t anticipate

Patients and providers inhabit a new normal in which we worry about — and for — each other.

Apr 9, 2020

Opinion

It’s a scary time to be pregnant, but I’m still so grateful

As a doctor, I know that there is no evidence that covid-19 is particularly dangerous to pregnant women, but there are still unanswered questions.

Mar 25, 2020

Opinion

Hospitals are overwhelmed because of the coronavirus. Here’s how to help.

Stay out of the ER, for starters.

Mar 15, 2020