Trump Administration Eliminated CDC Position Intended To Detect Disease Outbreaks In China Several Months Ago
Dr. Linda Quick left amid a bitter U.S. trade dispute with China when she learned her federally funded post, officially known as resident adviser to the U.S. Field Epidemiology Training Program in China, would be discontinued as of September. Meanwhile, a government watchdog is assessing HHS' response to the coronavirus outbreak, amid criticism that early missteps exacerbated the pandemic.
Reuters:
Exclusive: U.S. Axed CDC Expert Job In China Months Before Virus Outbreak
Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China, Reuters has learned. The American disease expert, a medical epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency, left her post in July, according to four sources with knowledge of the issue. The first cases of the new coronavirus may have emerged as early as November, and as cases exploded, the Trump administration in February chastised China for censoring information about the outbreak and keeping U.S. experts from entering the country to help. (Taylor, 3/22)
The Hill:
US Eliminated Key China-Based Public Health Position Ahead Of Coronavirus Outbreak: Report
Experts including one former official who held that position told the news service that Quick, were she still in her position, would have had the opportunity to receive warning and information about the coronavirus outbreak possibly sooner than U.S. and other global health experts did. “It was heartbreaking to watch,” Bao-Ping Zhu, the former CDC official who held the role between 2007-2011, told the news agency. “If someone had been there, public health officials and governments across the world could have moved much faster.” (Bowden, 3/22)
CNN:
Government Watchdog Launches Review Into Health And Human Services' Coronavirus Response
A government watchdog is assessing the Department of Health and Human Services' response to the coronavirus outbreak and reviewing nursing home preparedness after a number of elderly residents became ill and died, a spokeswoman for the HHS inspector general told CNN. The reviews are being launched by the Health and Human Services inspector general, said Tesia Williams, spokeswoman for the HHS IG. It's not uncommon for the inspector general to launch new reviews in the throes of an incident. The IG's work will jump into some of the key issues raised amid the outbreak. (Alvarez, 3/23)
Kaiser Health News:
CDC Coronavirus Testing Decision Likely To Haunt Nation For Months To Come
As the novel coronavirus snaked its way across the globe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early February distributed 200 test kits it had produced to more than 100 public health labs run by states and counties nationwide. Each kit contained material to test a mere 300 to 400 patients. And labs, whether serving the population of New York City or tiny towns in rural America, apparently received the same kits. (Pradhan, 3/23)
