Scientists were not on board with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to publish an updated guideline detailing who should be tested for coronavirus last month, The New York Times reports.
According to sources familiar with the CDC’s guideline, which advised asymptomatic people exposed to the virus not to obtain a virus test, scientists did not write the recommendation and objected to its publishing.
Administration officials had told the newspaper that the document was written by the CDC and revised with input from director Dr. Robert Redfield. But this week, officials told The Times a different story. They said the Department of Health and Human Services did the rewriting and then “dropped” it into the CDC’s public website, circumventing the CDC's strict scientific review process.
“That was a doc that came from the top down, from the HHS and the task force,” a federal official with knowledge of the matter told the newspaper, referring to the White House task force on the coronavirus. “That policy does not reflect what many people at the CDC feel should be the policy.”
A senior CDC official told scientists: “We do not have the ability to make substantial edits,” according to an email obtained by the newspaper.
A senior CDC scientist told the newspaper that the document contains “elementary errors.” The scientist pointed out it refers to “testing for COVID-19” instead of testing for the virus that causes it.
Virus testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir told the newspaper that the original draft came from the CDC, but he “coordinated editing and input from the scientific and medical members of the task force.”
He said the draft went through 20 versions over the span of a month. He said there was input from top members of the White House virus task force including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and Dr. Scott Atlas as well as Redfield.
He said he didn’t know why the recommendation didn’t follow the CDC’s scientific review process.
“I think you have to ask Dr. Redfield about that,” he said. “That certainly was not any direction from me whatsoever.”
In a statement from the CDC, Redfield wrote: “The guidelines, coordinated in conjunction with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, received appropriate attention, consultation and input from task force experts.”
According to a federal official, a new version of the testing guidance is scheduled to be posted on Friday. The source said it was not cleared by the CDC’s scientific process and is being revised by HHS officials.
“The idea that someone at HHS would write guidelines and have it posted under the CDC banner is absolutely chilling,” Dr. Richard Besser, who served as acting director at the Centers for Disease Control in 2009, told the newspaper.
Many public health experts also disagree with the recommendation that could sway people against getting a coronavirus test.
“Suggesting that asymptomatic people don’t need testing is just a prescription for community spread and further disease and death,” said Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America criticized the recommendation and asked for it to be changed.
“We’ve communicated that to the CDC and HHS, but I have not seen any signs that they’re going to change it,” said Amanda Jezek, a senior vice president at the organization.
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