WASHINGTON - The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has become a focal point for criticism of the American government's coronavirus response, blamed for botching tests that would have helped track the illness in its early days, and then receding from the Trump administration's public messaging.
But the coronavirus pandemic has tested the agency like never before, including a high-profile misstep during an important window when the virus might have been contained. Unfortunately, the version of the test the CDC sent to labs failed to work for most. It took eight days for the CDC to announce the problem, and more time to get new kits out and modify existing ones.
"It was really the responsibility of the private sector and the clinical medicine apparatus to develop these tests for clinical medicine," he said."That's the part that's still frustrating some people." Redfield maintains that that's a misunderstanding of the agency's responsibilities, and predicted the CDC would come out of the pandemic stronger.
Through early March, its experts held regular briefings to educate the public on the virus and the government's attempts to contain it. "I don't think that the press briefings, at the end of the day, with all the different things, is really the place to do that," Redfield said. As questions have arisen about the CDC's role in recent days, Redfield has become more outwardly visible. He gave an interview to the health news publication Stat published on April 4, defending the agency's performance, and appeared at a CNN event on April 9.
The official, Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases, warned of a serious outbreak in the US. "If all of us had been hearing from Doctor Nancy Messonnier every day for the past five to six weeks, we as a country and families and as individuals would be much better prepared."
The dynamic was on display in mid-March as authorities began to bar public gatherings. On March 16, citing"lack of federal direction," governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut said they would limit gatherings to 50 people. Later the same day, the Trump advised against gatherings of more than 10 nationwide.
Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »