Not all coronavirus health guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration were based on the best scientific evidence or even primary authoring from the agency’s staff, according to a review ordered by the new director of the CDC.
The review aimed to ensure that the current and primary guidance of the CDC’s COVID-19 contains the most up-to-date information and is “evidence-based and policy-free”, according to a summary presented to the CDC Director, Rochelle Walensky and dated of March 10.
“I am focused on taking the CDC forward with science, transparency and clarity leading the way,” said Walensky in a statement on Monday. “It is imperative that the American people trust the CDC. Otherwise, preventable illness and injury can occur – and, tragically, lives can and will be lost. ”
Alex Wong via Getty Images Then-President Donald Trump is seen speaking at a news conference in February 2020. A review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that not all coronavirus guidelines issued by the department during the Trump administration were primarily authored by the agency’s staff .
The review concluded that some of the CDC’s guidelines were not primarily created by the staff of the federal health agency, who offered considerations rather than direct recommendations based on existing evidence and that some of the information was out of date or lacking evolving scientific understanding.
The review specified three documents that were misrepresented as CDC documents on its website.
One of the documents, “The Importance of the Reopening of Schools in America this Fall,” was posted on the CDC website in July and quietly removed in October. Its removal came after reports that White House officials relentlessly pressured the CDC to minimize the risk of sending children back to school.
“The reopening of schools creates opportunities to invest in education, well-being and the future of one of America’s greatest assets – our children – while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all of their families ”, Said the article. Its author is not listed.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images CDC director Rochelle Walensky, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, ordered a review of the agency’s coronavirus health guidelines that had been released during the Trump administration.
Another document, “SARS-VOC-2 test overview,” was published in August and replaced in September. A third document, “Opening America again,” was released in April via a link posted on the CDC website and removed in February during the CDC review.
It was previously reported that White House officials within the Trump administration pressured the CDC to change its COVID-19 information in a way that reflected well on then President Donald Trump. Efforts by the Trump team have also been reported to delay or completely stop the release of CDC reports.
Olivia Troye, who served as adviser to Vice President Mike Pence for two years before resigning last August, said she was repeatedly asked by Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, to pressure the CDC to produce more reports showing a decline. in COVID -19 cases among young people.
After her resignation, she told The New York Times that she regretted being “complicit” in such efforts.
“You are impacting people’s lives by any political agenda. You are exchanging vows for lives, and I have a serious problem with that, ”she said.
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