Fauci says he was in surgery when task force discussed CDC testing guidelines
(CNN)White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was undergoing surgery and not in the August 20 task force meeting for the discussion on updated US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that suggest asymptomatic people may not need to be tested for Covid-19, even if they've been in close contact with an infected person.
"I was under general anesthesia in the operating room and was not part of any discussion or deliberation regarding the new testing recommendations" at that meeting, Fauci told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
"I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci's comments undercut claims by Adm. Brett Giroir, the administration's coronavirus testing point person, who told reporters on Wednesday that the new guidelines had the White House coronavirus task force's stamp of approval. Asked whether Fauci signed off on the guidelines, Giroir said, "Yes, all the docs signed off on this before it even got to the task force level."
"We worked on this all together to make sure that there was absolute consensus that reflected the best possible evidence, and the best public health for the American people," Giroir also said earlier in the call, pushing back on the notion that the new guidelines were the result of political pressure. "I worked on them, Dr. Fauci worked on them, Dr. (Deborah) Birx worked on them. Dr. (Stephen) Hahn worked on them."
The new CDC guidelines appeared to be the result of an idea raised to the task force by CDC Director Robert Redfield a month earlier, when a surge of coronavirus cases strained US testing resources and some members were looking for new messaging on how to stem excess testing.
Rather than continue to encourage anyone in close contact with a coronavirus-positive individual to get tested, Redfield suggested the CDC could relax the guidance, deeming a test unnecessary for otherwise healthy individuals not experiencing any symptoms, two sources familiar with the matter said. Experts worry that this will discourage the widespread testing of asymptomatic individuals that could help bring the pandemic under control.
The idea was met with immediate resistance from several task force members. In a coronavirus task force meeting Thursday, members debated the guidelines in-depth and in person, when Fauci was absent.
The new guidelines were quietly published on the CDC website on Monday, catching media attention Tuesday evening and drawing a deluge of criticism from the public health community.
The new guidelines stunned some federal health officials who are generally briefed on coronavirus matters, and many state health officials had also not been briefed on the change. Many federal health officials were scrambling on Wednesday to understand the impact of the new guidelines and who pushed through the change.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/08/26/politics/fauci-coronavirus-cdc-testing/index.html
(CNN)White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was undergoing surgery and not in the August 20 task force meeting for the discussion on updated US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that suggest asymptomatic people may not need to be tested for Covid-19, even if they've been in close contact with an infected person.
"I was under general anesthesia in the operating room and was not part of any discussion or deliberation regarding the new testing recommendations" at that meeting, Fauci told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
"I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci's comments undercut claims by Adm. Brett Giroir, the administration's coronavirus testing point person, who told reporters on Wednesday that the new guidelines had the White House coronavirus task force's stamp of approval. Asked whether Fauci signed off on the guidelines, Giroir said, "Yes, all the docs signed off on this before it even got to the task force level."
"We worked on this all together to make sure that there was absolute consensus that reflected the best possible evidence, and the best public health for the American people," Giroir also said earlier in the call, pushing back on the notion that the new guidelines were the result of political pressure. "I worked on them, Dr. Fauci worked on them, Dr. (Deborah) Birx worked on them. Dr. (Stephen) Hahn worked on them."
The new CDC guidelines appeared to be the result of an idea raised to the task force by CDC Director Robert Redfield a month earlier, when a surge of coronavirus cases strained US testing resources and some members were looking for new messaging on how to stem excess testing.
Rather than continue to encourage anyone in close contact with a coronavirus-positive individual to get tested, Redfield suggested the CDC could relax the guidance, deeming a test unnecessary for otherwise healthy individuals not experiencing any symptoms, two sources familiar with the matter said. Experts worry that this will discourage the widespread testing of asymptomatic individuals that could help bring the pandemic under control.
The idea was met with immediate resistance from several task force members. In a coronavirus task force meeting Thursday, members debated the guidelines in-depth and in person, when Fauci was absent.
The new guidelines were quietly published on the CDC website on Monday, catching media attention Tuesday evening and drawing a deluge of criticism from the public health community.
The new guidelines stunned some federal health officials who are generally briefed on coronavirus matters, and many state health officials had also not been briefed on the change. Many federal health officials were scrambling on Wednesday to understand the impact of the new guidelines and who pushed through the change.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/08/26/politics/fauci-coronavirus-cdc-testing/index.html
