As the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow with no end in sight, the Washington Post reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has apparently been sidelined by the White House when it comes to its ability to inform the public.
“Neither CDC Director Robert Redfield nor Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director who has played key roles in CDC’s emergency responses stretching back two decades, including the 2009 influenza pandemic, have appeared behind the podium during White House coronavirus task force briefings for more than a week,” the Post’s Lena Sun writes.
The CDC, already facing criticism for the sluggish rollout of testing kits, has not held telephone briefings for reporters in over a week, and as Sun points out, its messaging on mass gatherings and social distancing has been overtaken by conflicting messages from the White House. Continue reading.