Trump-Era COVID-19 Guidance Was Outdated, Downplayed Severity: CDC
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Trump-Era COVID-19 Guidance Was Outdated, Downplayed Severity: CDC
Nina Golgowski Breaking News Reporter, HuffPost Tue, March 16, 2021, 12:42 PM Not all of the coronavirus health guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration was based on the best scientific evidence or even primarily authored by the agency’s staff, according to a review ordered by the CDC’s new director.
The review aimed to ensure that the CDC’s current and primary COVID-19 guidance contains the most updated information and is “evidence-based and free of politics,” according to asummary presentedto CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and dated March 10.
“I am focused on moving CDC forward with science, transparency and clarity leading the way,” Walenskysaid in a statementMonday. “It is imperative for the American people to trust CDC. If they don’t, preventable illness and injury can occur — and, tragically, lives can and will be lost.”
The review concluded that some of the CDC’s guidance was not primarily authored by the federal health agency’s staff, that it offered considerations rather than direct recommendations based on existing evidence, and that some of the information was outdated or lacked evolving scientific understanding.
The review specified three documents that were misleadingly presented as CDC documents on its website.
One of the documents, “The Importance of Reopening of America’s Schools this Fall,” was posted on the CDC’s website in July andquietly removedin October. Its removal followed reports that White House officials hadrelentlessly pressured the CDCto play down the risk of sending children back to school.
“Reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education, well-being, and future of one of America’s greatest assets ― our children ― while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all their families,”read the article. Its author is not listed.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, ordered a review of the agency's coronavirus health guidance that had been released during the Trump administration. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
Another document, “Overview of Testing for SARS-COV-2,” was posted in August and replaced in September. A third document, “Opening up America Again,” was released in April through a link posted on the CDC’s site and was removed in February during the CDC’s review.
It had been previously reported that White House officials within the Trump administration had pressured the CDC to alter its COVID-19 information in ways that would reflect well on then-President Donald Trump. There were alsoreported efforts by Trump’s staffto delay or altogether stop the release of CDC reports.
Olivia Troye, who served as an adviser to Vice President Mike Pence for two years before resigning last August, has said she was repeatedly asked by Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, to pressure the CDC to produce more reports that showed a decline in COVID-19 cases among young people.
After her resignation, shetold The New York Timesthat she regretted being “complicit” in such efforts.
“You’re impacting people’s lives for whatever political agenda. You’re exchanging votes for lives, and I have a serious problem with that,” she said.
This article originally appeared onHuffPostand has been updated.
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“I am focused on moving CDC forward with science, transparency and clarity leading the way,” Walensky said in a statement Monday. “It is imperative for the American people to trust CDC. If they don’t, preventable illness and injury can occur — and, tragically, lives can and will be lost.”
The review concluded that some of the CDC’s guidance was not primarily authored by the federal health agency’s staff, that it offered considerations rather than direct recommendations based on existing evidence, and that some of the information was outdated or lacked evolving scientific understanding.
The review specified three documents that were misleadingly presented as CDC documents on its website.
One of the documents, “The Importance of Reopening of America’s Schools this Fall,” was posted on the CDC’s website in July and quietly removed in October. Its removal followed reports that White House officials had relentlessly pressured the CDC to play down the risk of sending children back to school.
“Reopening schools creates opportunity to invest in the education, well-being, and future of one of America’s greatest assets ― our children ― while taking every precaution to protect students, teachers, staff and all their families,” read the article . Its author is not listed.
Nothing in this article shocks or surprises me. I kinda knew that the WH was creating the narrative surrounding COVID. They didn't want Fauci saying anything and the administration downplayed everything. When the WH called for all COVID data to be routed through them first, I knew something wasn't right.
"When the WH called for all COVID data to be routed through them first, I knew something wasn't right."
Exactly Mrs. Giggles. The WH had to be the ones creating the narrative.
Couldn't have the truth or pesky facts getting out.
Thank God we have competent leadership again...
The former occupant of the White House didn't have a plan.
There was a plan: downplay and ignore it and hope it gets better.
To quote Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, "Not a great plan!"
For starters, taking it and early warnings seriously. Not cutting funding to disease prevention program. Publicly urge people to wear masks answer social distance and lead by example. Don't argue with or contradict actual scientists investigating the outbreak. Don't downplay the severity of the outbreak or falsely claim it will end by summer. And not spending time playing golf or tweeting political buzz during a national crisis might be helpful to. You know, show some actual leadership during a crisis. That's just for starters.
Stopped? Probably nothing. But lying about it and golfing for 4 months probably didn't do much to minimize the spread.
trump out and out denied the virus for as long as he possibly could. trump did not want to deal with the virus, HIS re-election was HIS priority. Not the safety of US.
YES most likely the virus spread more and probably killed more Americans than IF trump would have acknowledged and implemented plans to fight this deadly virus much sooner.
As we all have seen the deadly virus certainly did not just disappear as trump proclaimed it would for months.
Instead it killed many many Americans.
IMO: What trump did was not the intentions or actions of a good leader of men it was the intentions and actions of a person whose own power was more important to him than your or my life.
Sad
Not at all surprising since Trump was in the White House downplaying it for months.
You can thank Trump for the shot you got
I got Pfizer, what should I thank him for???
[Deleted]
I'll thank Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, and all the scientists involved in producing a vaccine. Leave it to science to get things done. Not some politician or prayer or whatever other nonsense.
Peter Hotez, scruffy looking mad scientist with a bow tie, Baylor, worked on a SARs vaccine from 2003 to 2016
then put it in deep freeze until December 2020 when he could not find any interest at the WH.
He had the basics done. Pfizer had BioNTech do the RNA work necessary to attack Covid specifically and began
testing on people April 8 2020, 5 weeks before Operation Warp Speed was established on May 15, 2020.
Pfizer did not take any Operation Warp Speed money. I just read an article theorizing that Trump turned down the additional Pfizer vaccines for the specific reason that he could not take credit for them. No strict evidence that this is true, but it does sound like something Trump would do.
But somehow, Trump and his sycophants try to claim credit.
That would not surprise me in the least.
Actually, it was BARDA and AstraZeneca parnership that did that. All Trump did was call for a certain amount of vaccine doses to be available. Actual scientists had tp make it happen.
Again, wrong. Trump tried to apply political pressure. Not to actually try to help people get the vaccine, but more to improve his political standing and reelection chances. But he can't change established guidelines. The Best Trump could do was block any new guidelines proposed. Not "bend" current ones.
Since you can't offer any rebuttal, I'll be sleeping just fine, thank you.
What rules are you claiming he bent? Nothing came up to the US government until they asked the FDA for emergency approval AFTER the vaccine had been developed.
All Trump did, was the same thing he always does, he gave tax payer money to the mega wealthy pharmaceutical corporations with no restrictions or conditions attached to it.
And I feel the need to point out that the pharmaceutical corporations that took the money, were slower to develop the vaccine than Pfizer, who took no money from Operation Warp Speed..
Why don't you do your own homework?
Seems those vaccines helped be able to accelerate this vaccine into a "warp speed" mode. Some of the work had already been done.
............................................
Technology readiness. GAO's analysis of the OWS vaccine candidates' technology readiness levels (TRL)—an indicator of technology maturity— showed that COVID-19 vaccine development under OWS generally followed traditional practices, with some adaptations.
FDA issued specific guidance that identified ways that vaccine development may be accelerated during the pandemic. Vaccine companies told GAO that the primary difference from a non-pandemic environment was the compressed timelines. To meet OWS timelines, some vaccine companies relied on data from other vaccines using the same platforms.
See Steve's comment just above mine? He did your homework for you.
I didn't say that. Neither did I address O:WS itself directly either. Intentionally misrepresenting what I say is as good as lying.
It showed Sars in the article link I already provided:
It is if you look at Operation Warp Speed. It was designed to speed up development and distribution of the vaccine. Pfizer did not take any of the money for development, and only took money as purchase price of the vaccine. And the Trump administration showed that it did not speed up the distribution.
I guess you weren't paying attention.
Merely a partisan opinion.
Not even a little.
Did "Operation Warp Speed" develop the vaccine?
No.
Did "Operation Warp Speed" add anything to the development of the vaccine?
No.
Did "Operation Warp Speed" give money to the research of the vaccine?
No.
What did "Operation Warp Speed" do?
It sped up the approvals (rubber stamped 'Approved!') during the testing phase of the vaccine which was already being developed long before OWS ever was implemented.
So essentially the thing OWS can be praised for is cutting some red tape, that's it, which is commendable but is essentially the very least the government could do when faced with an epidemic. Any party from any government would have done the very same thing in similar circumstances. Praising the Trump administration for doing the very least possible which was getting government out of the way of vaccine development is a bit like praising Al Gore for "inventing the internet". If you want to give Trump credit for the vaccine then you'd also have to give Al Gore the credit for the internet even though all he did was help cut a lot of government red tape during it's development.
Internet pioneers Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf (the latter often referred to as the “father of the Internet”) in 2000 noted that “Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development” and that “No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution [to the Internet] over a longer period of time”.
So if someone wants to say "Donald Trump and his 'Operation Warp Speed' recognized the importance of a Covid vaccine and promoted and supported its development" that would be a fair statement, but obviously they did not "invent" or "develop" the vaccine that would have been developed with or without them.
What should also not be forgotten is how Trump and his administration downplayed the virus from the very beginning and disregarded safety recommendations from their own CDC and re-wrote recommendations to fit the downplayed narrative they had crafted around Covid. This led to millions rejecting mask and social distancing recommendations that could have saved tens of thousands of lives. So the grade given to the Trump administration should be at best a C- which was a complete failure to support CDC recommendations but then at the last minute cut red tape that allowed vaccines faster government approval. If they hadn't done that they would be stuck with a solid 'F' grade for their handling of the pandemic.
Not quite. A PotUS is not an emperor. The role of PotUS is limited by the CotUS.
But a PotUS is responsible for the workings of the federal government.
Also, and this is what I think you were trying to convey, a PotUS is, by convention, credited for everything good that happened while in office (and sometimes after) and blamed for everything bad that happened while in office (and often after).
For example, Trump has been credited with a strong economy and good growth in the stock market. He is also blamed for the handling of COVID-19.
Biden, in turn, gets credit for a continuing economic recovery and still strong stock market. He also gets credit for the distribution of the vaccine. And should the economy take its predictable dip on Biden's watch, he will be blamed for that.
Am I trying to convince anyone?
I openly stated that it was someone's opinion with no facts to back it up. Unlike certain people around here, I DO NOT claim that a simple opinion is necessarily fact.
Yes and no. A President is responsible for actions he takes or does not take when dealing with any issues that come up. Similarly, he is credited or blamed for the outcomes of action or inaction.
See 4.2.3 and speak for yourself!
By that logic, Trump is then responsible for almost 30 million confirmed cases and almost 550,000 Covid deaths in the US. More than any country in the world. So tell us, what exactly has Trump done again? Other than not nearly enough, as the numbers indicate!
I just explained this. Instead of simply repeating your vague claim show where my comment is wrong.
You seem to ignore that neither America nor Trump is the whole world.
All agree that Trump denied covid-19 science just as he did/does with AGW.
Nice to have a president who knows a bit about science again.
Don't forget that it would also make Trump responsible for rocketing this country's economy to the bottom again, while at the same time elevating unemployment to new heights.
Now let's see if that point, based on the assertion that a President is responsible for everything under his watch, gets ignored or not.
Oh, I don't think you'll be seeing Dennis Smith on this comment thread again.
I would not be surprised.
Nice Rose colored glasses you do view through
4.2.6
More like urine colored glasses . . . .
Ahh yes, the 1st three years before he totally trashed this country.
That totally makes up for the condition the economy is in today, the millions going onto unemployment, and the over 550,000 dead. /sarc
No, no, and no. . .
Considering that trump DID NOT want to fight the virus during his reelection process and instead just kept saying, "It will disappear" this information does not surprise me in the least.
IMO: trump used his power to "cripple" or sideline other government agencies as well while president.
I really believe trump probably had much to do with the capitol Not being protected so his followers would be able to disrupt our government's business.
trumps end game ? Martial law ? Holding power in any way possible.
martial law
noun
See, we can agree on something!!!!!!!!
I agree with everything you say here.
I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you yesterday and telling you 'Don't do that' I went overboard.
Like when we used to talk about Hillary Clinton.
How about we make a truce and I agree not to discuss President Biden with you?
Still friends?
I'd like that very much Tesslyo
Like I said when you were the first to welcome me back, I looked for you as soon as I came back on the site after being gone so long. I valued our online friendship then and still do.
Yes we agree on so much. I will certainly keep our current differences about president Biden in mind when I reply to you in the future.
I think we can both agree that we both wish president Biden the best.
As far as I'm concerned Tesslyo we both could have been on better behaviour yesterday. But Please know I really was just Joking when I said Duu I have always known that you are an intelligent person by your words. It shows !
Thanks, Steve
Awww...I love it when people bump elbows and make up! Good on the both of you!
"I think we can both agree that we both wish president Biden the best."
Yes!
"As far as I'm concerned Tesslyo we both could have been on better behaviour yesterday. But Please know I really was just Joking when I said Duu I have always known that you are an intelligent person by your words. It shows !"
We all have our bad days. . . I believe you regarding the Duu (my best friend and I love to 'Duh' each other) I sometimes go too far but I know there was no ill will on your part and there is no ill will on my part either . . . I'm a bit stubborn as I imagine most of us are.
Thank you Steve,
You're Aces
LOL
And your opinion is just as valid as mine, except when I disagree!
LOL!
Just kidding, of course. . .
lol
I'd like to step back a bit. Didn't Trump disband an agency that Obama had appointed to prepare for and effectively deal wtih a possible pandemic?
And remove a position that was in place at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That position would have been integral in relaying timely info to us in regards to COVID in the very early days.
Absolutely. I had read the report that that had happened, and should have added it to my comment. Both of those being left in place instead of being disbanded by Trump could have been instrumental in early curtailing of the virus in the USA, and possibly could have saved hundreds of thousands of American lives. You will not see the Trumpsters here on NT admit that. It's much more convenient to just blame China. However, it is also an interesting factor that had those "pandemic guardians" been in place and carried out what would be expected of them, Trump might have won the election. It was what Trump did what he shouldn't, and didn't do as he should, that lost him the election, IMO.
Todays' gqp - the party of 'We take no responsibility' and EVERYTHING is the fault of Democrats/Progressives/Liberals EVERYTHING OR ANYTHING BUT OUR OWN INACTION, DENIAL, AND PROJECTION
Yes! There were 37 agencies around the world to deal with future/possible pandemics also that were put in place that the former occupant of the White House disbanded.
Just think where we'd be right now if a trump 'presidency' never happened. We wouldn't be where we are right now, regarding the pandemic and many other major issues that effect us, that's for sure.
An even greater saving of lives would have happened if the Chinese government had not silenced its medical experts, denied there was a problem, and did not attempt to contain it.
It's likely that if HRC were president, the vaccines would still be at the early trial stage. Most rational Americans don't believe Trump made the pandemic worse. And they also wonder about the lack of outrage at Cuomo's actions.
If Hillary had been President, we wouldn't be where we are now. See above.
Your whataboutism, denial, and projection, as always, are duly noted.
Oh the irony that you fail to recognize that is EXACTLY what Trump did in spades.
Most rational Americans believe Trump made the pandemic worse.
An even greater saving of lives would have happened if trump's government had not silenced its medical experts, denied there was a problem, and did not attempt to contain it.
Because the virus DID NOT JUST DISAPPEAR as trump kept insisting it would
But it did kill more than half a million of us so far.