Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody, who issued the nation’s first lockdown order during the pandemic five years ago, announced today she is retiring.
Cody, a Palo Alto resident and a Yale medical school graduate, became a controversial figure in 2020 by ordering the closure of businesses to prevent the spread of Covid.
She also issued the first stay-at-home order in the nation.
After the pandemic, she went on unpaid leave in September 2023 so she could participate in a fellowship at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Cody was also writing a memoir about her experiences as the county’s top health officer during the pandemic.
Cody’s last day with the county is April 11, 2025. Deputy Health Officer, Dr. Sarah Rudman, will serve as Acting Health Officer and Director.
Dr. Cody is a hero! Her dedication to protecting Santa Clara County residents during the worst of times was unmatched. I thank her for her hard work and commitment to doing what was right, making tough choices. Thank you for your service. Enjoy retirement!
Remember her saying she needed three weeks to flatten the curve?
Or do you remember the 6-foot rule?
Or how masks stop the spread?
What Dr. Cody didn’t say was that Covid was relatively mild, targeting the elderly and this was obvious in early 2020. People with comorbidities needed to be isolated but not the vast majority of adults.
She could have told us the truth. Instead we destroyed businesses and lives. Kids lost more than a year of education.
And Santa Clara County had worse outcomes than the other BAy Area counties.
Now that she’s retiring, it would be nice if she apologized.