Five administration officials working on the pandemic response told The Daily Beast that the White House has pressed the CDC to work with states to revise how they count coronavirus deaths and report them back to the federal government.
Dr. Deborah Birx, in particular, has urged CDC officials to exclude some individuals who are presumed positive but don’t have confirmed lab results or those who have the virus but may not have died as a direct result, according to three senior administration officials. Continue reading.