FRAMINGHAM, MA – Framinghams director of public health, who led the city’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, will go on vacation indefinitely this week.
Framingham announced that Dr. Sam Wong will start his medical vacation on December 31st. A city spokesman could not give any details about the reason for the medical leave – or how long it would last.
Wong joined Framingham in August 2017 after serving 17 years as Hudson’s Health Director. Assistant health director Alexandra DePalo, who previously worked with Wong in Hudson, will take him on, officials said.
Neither Wong nor DePalo could immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.
Health Committee chair Gillian Carcia described the news as a “great loss to Framingham” but said DePalo was a worthy replacement.
“We know she will be able to continue some of the good leadership that Dr. Wong began,” said Carcia. “Dr. Wong was an exceptional leader and we never want to lose anyone in that position.”
Wong was a strong voice in the city’s fight against the pandemic. Wong was an early advocate of masks and most recently worked with Framingham Public Schools to devise guidelines for getting students back inside buildings. He also oversaw the city’s contact tracing efforts, which he believes are faster and better than the state system.
But as the pandemic progressed – almost a year old now – Wong has said that he worked every day and that resources at the health department were depleted. During a recent Framingham School Committee meeting, Wong said he wasn’t sure how long his department could keep up with the pace of cases, which have been growing rapidly.
“We still manage to keep up with the volume but I don’t think we can do that much longer,” he said.
Outside of Framingham, Wong was the past president of the Massachusetts Health Officers Association, a consortium of senior health officials from cities across the state.
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