Sara Cody

Education Cody was born and grew up in Palo Alto, California, where she graduated from Palo Alto High School. She earned a degree in human biology from Stanford University and a Doctor of Medicine from Yale School of Medicine. Following residency in internal medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, she completed a two-year fellowship in epidemiology and public health as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer ("disease detective") with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She also led an investigation into a salmonella outbreak in Santa Clara County that was traced to cheese made from raw milk and sold in local Hispanic markets.

After completion of this fellowship, Cody joined the Public Health Department of Santa Clara County. In 1998, she became the communicable disease controller and deputy health officer for the county. In this role she oversaw surveillance and investigation of 83 reportable diseases, conducted investigations on outbreaks, and responded to SARS, H1N1 and other public health emergencies. In the years after the September 11 attacks, Cody worked with the then-county health officer Marty Fenstersheib to model Santa Clara County's emergency response to a bioterrorism attack or pandemic. This model included such measures as social distancing, shutting schools, and at its most extreme, stay-at-home orders.

Cody retired on April 11, 2025, after serving as a Santa Clara County official for almost 27 years. Deputy Health Officer Dr. Sarah Rudman filled her dual positions, initially in an acting capacity. Cody issued the first guidelines on the closure and cancellation of public gatherings on March 3, extending them on March 9 to sporting events, festivals, and bars. Cody later explained: "If you are going to do something really drastic like shelter-in-place, you want to do it as early as you possibly can. Because if you wait to do it, you get all the harms, all of the social and economic disruptions, but you miss a lot of the benefit."

Cody has made regular appearances on Bay Area press and video conferences, explaining county health policy and reminding residents that the COVID-19 battle is a long-term health concern. In a press conference in April 2020, Cody confirmed that the first United States COVID-19 death had actually occurred in the Bay Area on February 6, some 23 days prior to the previously known first death. This was the first of three early COVID-19 deaths that Cody described as "iceberg tips", suggesting a "vast and unseen propagation" of the virus. Following one news conference, she became the subject of a viral meme, after she implored citizens to refrain from touching their faces, then licked her finger to turn a page.

Criticism On several occasions Cody has cited the effectiveness of the enacted mandates without providing data or evidence to back up her claims. The mandates were set without any exit metrics to be tracked. At a meeting of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in September 2021, Cody cited masks as the reason why Santa Clara County had minimal influenza cases in the winter of 2021, and was reminded by a supervisor that the entire area was under shelter in place at that time, with only essential businesses open.

Awards Cody received numerous awards for her role in the COVID-19 pandemic response, including:

Certificate of Recognition, United States Congress Certificate of Recognition, California State Assembly Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for Creative Local Public Health Work, American Public Health Association (2020) Tall Tree Global Impact Award, Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and Palo Alto Weekly (2022)

Personal life Cody lives in Palo Alto near her childhood home. She has a son and a daughter with her husband, a Stanford University professor of medicine and health policy.