Federal health officials, according to the agency’s internal investigation, have identified and removed policy documents released during the Trump administration that are not science-based and that were not “written primarily by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). .
The review specifically cited three reports issued by the Trump administration that had already been removed from the agency’s website: guidelines for reopening schools issued in July, guidelines for the “reopening of America” issued in April is, and guidelines for testing COVID-19 issued in August.
The investigation was conducted by the CDC’s Deputy Director General, Anne Schuchat, at the request of the Director of the Agency, Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by the National Shooting Sports Foundation – Biden: Back to ‘normal’ still means ‘beating the virus’ CDC director: ‘I’m worried about the day when the vaccine will no longer be free’ Fauci for the springbreakers: ‘Do not lay down your hats completely’ MORE, as part of the promise to restore public confidence in the CDC.
This was first reported by The Washington Post.
In a memorandum to Walensky summarizing the findings, Schuchat said the review “will ensure that all of the CDC’s existing clues regarding COVID-19 evidence are based and free from politics.”
The review found that some guidance ‘was not primarily written by CDC staff’, that some used language that was not as strong as it could have been, and that some needed to be updated based on new evidence.
Schuchat also recommended improvements to help the public find easier when posting new guidelines or updating existing leads. According to the memorandum, it is often difficult to decipher ‘the core recommendations’ in lengthy guidance documents and that ‘the core of what is new or changed is difficult to find.’
All three of the removed documents fell back on experts at the time they were issued, leading to concerns that Trump administration political officials were making scientific recommendations.
The CDCs guidance on the reopening of the country from April appears to be much less detailed than the guidelines originally drawn up.
The guidelines for schools were strongly focused on the benefits of personal classes and underestimated the risks. The document was released in late July, weeks after the president attacked previous guidelines, tweeting that it was ‘very tough and expensive’. It was removed in October.
Last August, the CDC suffered significant setbacks from public health officials, local health departments and members of Congress alter his lead in saying that asymptomatic people “do not necessarily need a test”, even if they have been in close contact with confirmed cases.
The agency made the move by updating its website, but made no public announcement or explaining the reasoning behind the major review. It was replace in September.