CDC repudiates several public health guidance issued under Trump administration that downplayed the pandemic

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Mon, 2021-03-15 13:50 — mike kraft

CDC review identifies public health guidance authored under Trump administration that downplayed severity of pandemic The analysis was done ensure public trust in the agency and "ensure that all of CDC’s existing covid-19 guidance is evidence-based and free of politics,’ says memo. Lena H. Sun Washington Post

Federal health officials have identified several controversial recommendations about coronavirus testing and school reopenings released during the Trump administration that it says were “not primarily authored” by staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and don’t reflect the best scientific evidence, based on a review ordered by its new director.

The review identified three documents that had already been removed from the agency’s website: One, released in July, delivered a strong argument for school reopenings and downplayed health risks. A second set of guidelines about the country’s reopening, was released last April by the White House, and was far less detailed than what had been drafted by CDC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A third guidance issued in August discouraged the testing of people without covid-19 symptoms even when they had contact with infected individuals. That was replaced last September after experts inside and outside the agency raised alarms.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky ordered the review as part of her pledge to restore public trust in the beleaguered agency, which had seen its recommendations watered down or ignored during the Trump administration to align with the former president’s efforts to downplay the severity of the pandemic.

The review was done “to ensure that all of CDC’s existing covid-19 guidance is evidence-based and free of politics,” according to a memo from the agency’s principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, who conducted the review, which was posted on the agency’s website Monday. Officials said they are revamping all pandemic-related guidance to ensure that science and transparency are paramount.

The July school reopening guidance was controversial because it was released weeks after Trump criticized the agency’s earlier recommendations as being “very tough and expensive.” The opening preamble extolling the importance of in-school classes, was presented as a CDC document, but the agency was not part of the discussion or drafting, Walensky said. That guidance was removed last October. ...

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