White House Coronavirus Task Force Member Dr. Anthony Fauci said he underwent surgery and did not attend the Aug. 20 meeting of the Task Force to discuss updated U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that suggest asymptomatic people may not need to be tested for Covid disease. 19, even if they have been in close contact with an infected person.
“I was under general anesthesia in the operating room and was not part of any discussion as to discussing the new test recommendations” at that meeting, Fauci told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
“I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and fear that it will give people the wrong assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact, it is,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci’s comments underscored the claims of adm. Brett Giroir, the person from the administration’s coronavirus test point, told reporters on Wednesday that the new guidelines had the stamp of approval of the White House Task Force. Asked if Fauci had signed the guidelines, Giroir said: “Yes, all the documents were signed before it even reached the task force level.”
“We worked together to ensure that there was absolute consensus that reflected the best possible evidence, and the best public health for the American people,” Giroir said earlier in the call, pushing back on it. idea that the new guidelines were the result of political pressure. “I worked on her, Dr. Fauci worked on her, Dr. (Deborah) Birx worked on her. Dr. (Stephen) Hahn worked on her.”
The new CDC guidelines appeared to be the result of an idea that was brought to the task force a month earlier by CDC director Robert Redfield, when a flood of coronavirus cases strained testing of US sources and some members searched for new posts on how to stem redundant tests. ,
Instead of continuing to encourage anyone in close contact with a coronavirus-positive individual to be tested, Redfield suggested that the CDC could relax the guidance, and did not consider a test necessary for otherwise healthy individuals who had no symptoms, said two sources familiar with the matter. Experts worry that this will discourage widespread testing of asymptomatic individuals who could bring the pandemic under control.
The idea was met with immediate resistance from various members of the task force. At a task force meeting of coronavirus Thursday, members debated the guidelines in detail and in person, when Fauci was absent.
The new guidelines were quietly published on the CDC website on Monday, and received media attention on Tuesday night and drew a flood of criticism from the public health community.
The new guidelines baffled some federal health officials who are generally informed about coronavirus cases, and many state health officials were also uninformed about the change. Many federal health officials scrambled Wednesday to understand the impact of the new guidelines and who pushed through the change.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly lamented widespread testing in the US, falsely claiming it is responsible for cursing cases in the US and suggesting that the US should delay testing. Those remarks and the surprising CDC guidelines lead to accusations that the CDC’s new guidelines were political and not scientific in origin.
“It’s coming from the top down,” a federal health official told CNN of the new guidelines.
Giroir insisted the decision was scientific and evidence-based, saying there was “no direction from President Trump, the vice president, as the [HHS] Secretary on what we should do when. ”
“This is evidence-based decision-making driven by scientists and physicians, both within the CDC with my office in the Task Force lab, and certainly among the members of the task force,” Giroir said.
“These updated guidelines, coordinated with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, have received appropriate attention, consultation and input from task force experts,”
Redfield said in a statement released to CNN later Wednesday that “these updated guidelines, coordinated with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, have received appropriate attention, consultation and input from task force experts.”
“We place an emphasis on testing individuals with symptomatic disease, individuals with significant exposure, vulnerable populations including long-term nursing homes or facilities, critical infrastructure workers, health care workers and first responders, as well as those individuals who may be asymptomatic when they become prioritized by medical and public health officials, ”he said.
Earlier CDC test report said that anyone who had close contact with someone with coronavirus should be tested if they have symptoms or not.
The page was changed to say, “If you’ve been in close contact for at least 15 minutes (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection but have no symptoms, you do not need to have a test “unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or state public health officials advise you to take one.”
Redfield said in his statement that anyone who has been in close contact with a confirmed or probable Covid-19 patient should check his symptoms, wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet away from others, wash their hands and with a health care provider speaks as public health “to determine if (a) test is needed.”
“Testing is intended to stimulate action and achieve specific goals for public health. Anyone who needs a COVID-19 test can get a test. Anyone who wants a test does not necessarily need a test; the key is to engage the necessary public health community in deciding with the appropriate follow-up action, “Redfield said, adding:” Testing can be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or likely COVID-19 patients. “
Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease specialist and associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine, told CNN Newsroom earlier that the CDC had not provided any evidence to explain the changes. “I mean, the evidence I’m aware of today is that close to 40% of cases of infections are asymptomatic and asymptomatic people transmit the infection,” del Rio said.
“That, not testing – I mean, if you’ve been in contact with someone for a few minutes, that’s fine. But if you’ve been in contact for 15 minutes and people do not have a mask, I think you should be tested if you have symptoms. or not, “he added.
U.S. President of the American Medical Association Dr. Susan Bailey called on CDC and HHS to release “scientific justification” for the changes.
“Months into this pandemic, we know that COVID-19 is being spread by asymptomatic people. Suggesting that asymptomatic people who have exposure to COVID-positive individuals do not need testing is a recipe for community outreach and more spikes in coronavirus, “Bailey said in a statement.
California, meanwhile, will not abide by new guidelines, Gavin Newsom said in a news conference.
“I do not agree with the new CDC guidance time, complete stop, and it is not the policy in the state of California,” said Newsom, a Democrat. “We will not be affected by this change. We are influenced by those who are experts in the field who feel very differently. ”
This story was updated on Wednesday with additional developments.
