CDC changed COVID-19 testing guidance due to pressure from Trump Administration

essentialsaltes said:

If you reduce testing, you reduce cases. Simple!

A sudden change in federal guidelines on coronavirus testing came this week as a result of pressure from the upper ranks of the Trump administration, a federal health official close to the process tells CNN.

"It's coming from the top down," the official said of the new directive from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guidelines raise the bar on who should get tested, advising that some people without symptoms probably don't need it -- even if they've been in close contact with an infected person.

Previously, the CDC said viral testing was appropriate for people with recent or suspected exposure, even if they were asymptomatic.

CDC would not comment on questions about its own policy change.

In a statement to CNN, HHS Assistant Secretary Brett Giroir said: "This Guidance has been updated to reflect current evidence and best public health practices, and to further emphasize using CDC-approved prevention strategies to protect yourself, your family, and the most vulnerable of all ages."

HHS has not specified what change in "current evidence" may have driven the change. Giroir is expected to address these issues at a briefing Wednesday afternoon.

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Here's what the CDC website said previously: "Testing is recommended for all close contacts of persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Because of the potential for asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, it is important that contacts of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection be quickly identified and tested."

The CDC changed the site on Monday. Here's what it says now: "If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or State or local public health officials recommend you take one."

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essentialsaltes said:

Probably no surprise at this point, but...

CDC testing guidance was published outside normal review process, sources say

From CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Ben Tinker

“A heavily criticized recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month about who should be tested for the coronavirus was not written by C.D.C. scientists and was posted to the agency’s website despite their serious objections,” according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times.

The document was supposed to go through a vetting process that includes a director of science, fact-checking, cross-checking and several back-and-forths for scientific review. As it was going through the process – which can take several days – the source tells CNN that they woke up the next morning and saw that the document had been posted on the CDC’s website unaltered, in its original form and including some errors.

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Hans Blaster said:

I don't know how much more we can take of Agent Chaos before we collapse.

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Fantine said:

Trying to make the stats look better before the election.

Won't we be excited when a vaccine is approved one week before the election (insufficiently tested and of uncertain benefit, IF he can get the FDA to go along with his scheme)!

Just like the UAE-Israel agreement--pulling in favors to gain reelection...wonder how long the agreement will last?

Of course he'll push the Fed to do an interest rate cut to boost the stock market...

None of this is real! It's smoke and mirrors! He will keep trying to manipulate reality up until the day of the election.

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childeye 2 said:

Is it possible we could see totalitarianism in this country? This should be a felony. Who can arrest the President when William Barr is Trump's fixer?

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essentialsaltes said:

in related news, CDC 'erroneously posted' new COIVID-19 guidance.

“A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website,” the CDC said Monday.

I don't want to even post about what the changes were, since it will only confuse people further. But alas, this has been par for the course for Trump's COVID-19 'strategy'. Straight from the top, it has been self-contradictory, mixed messages, and scattered with untruths ranging from fibs to whoppers.

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Pommer said:

They’re going to run into trouble trying to gaslight a virus.

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essentialsaltes said:

in related news, CDC 'erroneously posted' new COIVID-19 guidance.

“A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website,” the CDC said Monday.

I don't want to even post about what the changes were, since it will only confuse people further. But alas, this has been par for the course for Trump's COVID-19 'strategy'. Straight from the top, it has been self-contradictory, mixed messages, and scattered with untruths ranging from fibs to whoppers.

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Fantine said:

It's a miracle so many of us have survived Trump's deceitful and malicious mismanagement.

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Fantine said:

It's a miracle so many of us have survived Trump's deceitful and malicious mismanagement.

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Arc F1 said:

If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't get tested. A positive result puts a target on your back. Not to mention the fact people treat you differently.

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Aaron_Bethlhm said:

Juest for comparison, if okay - did you or anyone else twenty years ago, or whenever years ago, ever bother to pay to get tested to see if you had a cold ? Did you even go to a clinic or a doctor or a hospital if you had a cold , ever ?

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Aaron_Bethlhm said:

Juest for comparison, if okay - did you or anyone else twenty years ago, or whenever years ago, ever bother to pay to get tested to see if you had a cold ? Did you even go to a clinic or a doctor or a hospital if you had a cold , ever ?

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