lost in melb.
07-18-2020, 12:39 AM
Led by physicians, scientists and epidemiologists, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the most reliable sources of knowledge during disease outbreaks.
But now, with the world in desperate need of authoritative information, one of the foremost agencies for fighting infectious disease has gone conspicuously silent.
For the first time since 1946, when the CDC came to life in a cramped Atlanta office to fight malaria, the agency is not at the front line of a public health emergency.
On April 22, CDC director Robert Redfield stood at the White House briefing room lectern and conceded that the coronavirus pandemic had "overwhelmed" the United States.
Following Redfield at the podium, President Donald Trump said the CDC director had been "totally misquoted" in his warning that COVID-19 would continue to pose serious difficulties as the US moved into its winter flu season in late 2020.
Invited to clarify, Redfield confirmed he had been quoted correctly in giving his opinion that there were potentially "difficult and complicated" times ahead.
Trump tried a different tack. "You may not even have corona coming back," the President said, once again contradicting the career virologist. "Just so you understand."
The exchange was interpreted by some pundits as confirmation that the CDC's venerated expertise had been sidelined as the coronavirus continued to ravage the US.
In the latest development, the New York Times reported this week the CDC has even been bypassed in its data collection, with the Trump administration ordering hospitals to send COVID-19 data directly to the White House.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-18/us-coronavirus-data-white-house-what-it-means-for-the-world/12467322
But now, with the world in desperate need of authoritative information, one of the foremost agencies for fighting infectious disease has gone conspicuously silent.
For the first time since 1946, when the CDC came to life in a cramped Atlanta office to fight malaria, the agency is not at the front line of a public health emergency.
On April 22, CDC director Robert Redfield stood at the White House briefing room lectern and conceded that the coronavirus pandemic had "overwhelmed" the United States.
Following Redfield at the podium, President Donald Trump said the CDC director had been "totally misquoted" in his warning that COVID-19 would continue to pose serious difficulties as the US moved into its winter flu season in late 2020.
Invited to clarify, Redfield confirmed he had been quoted correctly in giving his opinion that there were potentially "difficult and complicated" times ahead.
Trump tried a different tack. "You may not even have corona coming back," the President said, once again contradicting the career virologist. "Just so you understand."
The exchange was interpreted by some pundits as confirmation that the CDC's venerated expertise had been sidelined as the coronavirus continued to ravage the US.
In the latest development, the New York Times reported this week the CDC has even been bypassed in its data collection, with the Trump administration ordering hospitals to send COVID-19 data directly to the White House.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-18/us-coronavirus-data-white-house-what-it-means-for-the-world/12467322