Federal health officials have identified and removed guidance documents published during the Trump administration that were not science-based and were not “primarily authorized” by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff, according to an internal review. of the agency.
The review specifically cited three reports from the Trump administration that had already been removed from the agency’s website: guidance on reopening schools issued in July, guidance on “reopening America” issued in April, and guidance on COVID-19 testing issued in August. .
The review was conducted by CDC Deputy Director General Anne Schuchat at the request of the Agency’s Director, Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by the National Shooting Sports Foundation – Biden: Back to “normal” still means “defeating the virus” CDC Director: “I’m worried about the day when the vaccine will no longer be free.” in the spring of the year: “Don’t let the guard down completely” MORE, as part of a commitment to restore public confidence in the CDC.
It was first reported by The Washington Post.
In a note to Walensky summarizing the findings, Schuchat said the review will “ensure that all existing CDC guidelines related to COVID-19 are evidence-based and policy-free.”
The analysis found that some guidelines “were not created primarily 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 it easier when new guidelines are posted or when existing updates are updated. The memorandum stated that it was often difficult to “decipher the basic recommendations” in lengthy guidance documents and that “the essence of what was new or changed was difficult to find”.
All three documents removed generated adverse reactions from experts when they were issued and led to concerns that Trump administration political officials were interfering in science-based recommendations.
The CDC guidance about the country’s reopening in April proved to be much less detailed than the guidelines originally developed.
School guidance focused largely on the benefits of in-person courses and minimized the risks. The document was released in late July, a few weeks after the president attacked previous guidelines, tweeting that they were “very harsh and expensive”. He was eliminated in October.
In August last year, the CDC faced significant reactions from public health officials, local health departments, and members of Congress. change his guidance to state that asymptomatic people “do not necessarily need a test” even if they have had close contact with confirmed cases.
The agency made the move by updating its website, but did not make any public announcement or explain the reasoning behind the major revision. It was substituted in September.