Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Walensky Vows Clarity With Public, CDC Slammed For Its Football Warning
The Wall Street Journal: CDC Director Aims To Improve Covid-19 Messaging, Data Collection
One year into her tenure as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky acknowledged that she hasn’t been clear enough with the American public. She says the pandemic threw curveballs that she should have anticipated. She thinks she should have made it clearer to the public that new rules and guidelines were subject to change if the nature of the fight against Covid-19 shifted again. “I think what I have not conveyed is the uncertainty in a lot of these situations,” Dr. Walensky said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. (Toy, 1/17)
CNN: CDC's Suggestion To Cancel Football, Band In Nearly Every US School Called 'Unrealistic'
If the scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had their way, to curb the spread of Covid-19 right now, nearly every US school would cancel football, wrestling, band and loads of other mainstay school activities. In another piece of guidance, the CDC tells people who've recovered from Covid-19 that they can leave their homes after five days -- and while they are out and about for the next five days, they should avoid being around more than 80% of the US public. Dr. William Schaffner, an adviser to the CDC for four decades, said it's "unlikely, unreasonable, and unrealistic" to think Americans will follow either of the agency's suggestions. (Cohen, 1/17)
The New York Times: The C.D.C.’s New Challenge? Grappling With Imperfect Science
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was long revered for its methodical and meticulous scientific approach. Agencies in other nations modeled themselves after the world’s most highly regarded public health authority, even adopting the name. At the outset of the pandemic, the C.D.C. moved at its accustomed pace. But this time, with a novel virus moving so quickly, the country paid a price: Testing and surveillance lagged as the agency tried to implement dated approaches with creaky infrastructure. Officials were late to recommend masking, in part because federal scientists took too long to recognize that the virus was airborne. (Mandavilli, 1/17)
Bloomberg: Surgeon General Defends Biden Response
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy defended the Biden administration’s response to the surge of Covid-19 infections caused by the omicron variant, conceding though that health officials need to “close that gap” in the severe shortage of testing. “We have more to do,” Murthy said on ABC’s “This Week,” adding that the spike in infections outstripped what he said was an eight-fold increase in testing over the last month. (Fisher and Strohm, 1/16)
