The Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus epidemic and its subsequent attempts to interfere with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are putting significant strain on the country’s leading public health institution.
In interviews with half a dozen current and former CDC officials, they described an activity that has seen its expertise questioned, its conclusions politically motivated, and its effectiveness in fighting an epidemic weakened by partisan actors in Washington.
“I have never seen such low morale. It’s just that, people are being beaten. “People are partially beaten up by someone who not only disturbs us but those who really think we want to violate their civil liberties,” said a current CDC employee. “The second factor is the active ambiguity by senior members of our own administration.”
Those who still work at the agency requested anonymity to describe the conversation between their colleagues, so as to punish the administration officials for fear of reprisals.
They expressed frustration that the CDC, which has long been an independent voice in the science of animosity, has leaned towards the whims of the administration that the U.S. Not acknowledging the severity of the epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 people in, they have seen the guidelines revised or removed – more recently this week, when the CDC cut the language of accepting the virus, mainly spread by aerosol drops, the World Health Organization said months ago.
In the early months of the epidemic, senior officials, including the principal deputy director, Schu’s Schutz and the national messenger, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, were set aside after hearing alarms about the dangers posed by the novel’s coronavirus.
President Trump
Panacea: Trump is in a hurry to fill the Scots seat so he can oust Obamacare, Trump mocks Biden’s appearance, uses mask more before first debate Publicly downplayed – and continued downplay – the epidemic, both its own top medical and health experts and the science that shows the mask command and social distance function. In private, Trump admitted that the virus is more deadly, according to an interview published by P In reporter Bob Woodward.
“The only feeling I get when I talk to former CDC colleagues is a sense of frustration. Rich Besser said people are working tirelessly to reduce the impact of the epidemic and the fact that they are being blocked by the people at the political level, and the work they are doing is not appreciated by the American people. , A former CDC director who now runs the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“The feeling right now is that public health is not allowed to lead and is allowed to show the way forward to reduce transmission and increase economic activity,” he said.
A CDC spokesman did not return calls or emails seeking comment.
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have publicly questioned the CDC’s findings, which are published in its weekly report Morbidity and Mortality. Those reports are cultured documents to highlight the agency’s best work and research.
House Democrats have launched an investigation into possible political interference in the CDC’s publications.
Among those HHS officials seeking change in those reports were Michael Capto, who worked on the Trump campaign and who arrived at the health agency in April, and his top science adviser, Paul Alexander. Alexander has left the HHS, and Caputo has taken medical leave after a bizarre trumpet on Facebook, in which he accused CDC officials of trying to hurt Trump’s political stance.
Some of the CDC’s current employees were hired by the HHS in August Gust. Pointed out, while the guidelines indicate that those who came in contact with a person infected with the virus, despite being asymptomatic, were investigated and quietly removed from the agency’s website. That recommendation was resumed after a public recommendation.
“It simply came to our notice then. I am not aware of any other situation like this, when things have been suggested to be put on the CDC website which is not a defensive science. “The idea that you shouldn’t check contacts is just uncertain,” said Tom Frieden, who led the CDC during the Obama administration.
Political interference in guidance, and Trump’s pledge that the vaccine will be ready soon – a promise that CDC director Robert Redfield made contrary to testimony given to Congress last week – that the vaccine will not be widely available until next year – has raised concerns. . Once the vaccine is available, people will accept it.
“It is very unfortunate for all of us that the recent guidance is causing a loss of confidence for the CDC in general. “I am very nervous about what will happen when the vaccine is received, especially if the three trials in phases are shortened for political reasons,” said a current CDC employee. “Public health messaging is very important and has been ignored since the early days of the epidemic.”
Others at the CDC said there had been political interference since the first day of the epidemic. On an event management call, an listening official said Redfield spoke about being instructed by Vice President Pence to change CDC guidelines on the size of public ceremonies to follow the recommendations of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
A spokesman for Pence’s office fee denied that he had instructed Redfield to change any guidance. But in March, the CDC changed its direction from limiting public gatherings from 50 to 10 people – three days after the White House task force set a limit of 10.
Current CDC employees said their faith in Redfield’s leadership has been shattered, both by their inability to stop the change in recommendations made by Washington and their reluctance to defend the agency more clearly. Those employees, known as Redfield, a leading researcher on AIDS at the University of Maryland, had previously served as head of both the humble and approachable CDC.
“It has become quite clear that Dr. Redfield is a polite and courteous person in a context where a fighter was needed,” said the first CDC employee. “No one in the CDC sees it as an agency that will stand up and fight for us, as an agency.”
Redfield’s predecessors were also critical of his agency’s defense.
“The thing that worries me is that we don’t see strong support for the agency from the top, and that can be frustrating. One of the roles of the CDC director is that scientists and all people work hard in the agency, and we are not looking at that. “” I don’t know. What Redfield does behind closed doors, but we haven’t heard from him condemning interference in CDC publications. “
CDC sources said there was no talk of mass resignations to control the epidemic by the administration or to oppose interference in public health sciences. Some have joked about going to New Zealand or Australia Australia, but most say they will continue their work to promote public health.
“Most public health people are people who just see suffering and want to get rid of it. That’s what leads you to public health. I mean, God knows you don’t do it for money,” said CDC. At first the employee said. But, the employee added: “The overall tenor of things, the drumbeat is just too frustrating.”
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