We Need More Coronavirus Testing, Not Less
In late August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new coronavirus testing guidance that sparked a wave of criticism from many public health experts. The updated guidance says you “do not necessarily need a test” if you don’t develop COVID-19 symptoms after spending at least 15 minutes in close contact with a person who has the virus. (Close contact means being within six feet of that person.) Instead, the CDC puts asymptomatic people who have had this kind of contact into a category it calls “considerations for who should get tested” while also saying that “not everybody needs to be tested.” The CDC notes that there are a couple of exceptions to this new guidance. People who are asymptomatic after this kind of extended close contact should still get tests if they are “vulnerable” (like older individuals) or their doctors recommend getting tested. Otherwise, the CDC says, it’s not necessary to get tested when you’re asymptomatic but have spent more than 15 minutes in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. This is a clear departure from the CDC’s past testing guidance, which has recommended testing for all close contacts of someone who has COVID-19, the New York Times reports.
After learning of this new guidance, “Many of us in the public health community were stumped and concerned,” Carolyn Cannuscio, Sc.D., an epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tells SELF. The CDC’s recommendation “goes against what we’ve thought to be the best in public health practice since the beginning,” Stephen Kissler, Ph.D., a researcher who studies infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, tells SELF.
The CDC later “clarified” its position to say “testing may be considered” in these cases. But many public health experts say this still isn’t a strong enough stance on the need for a robust testing plan in this country. It’s especially key for U.S. public health agencies to be clear about the importance of expansive testing in light of President Trump’s inaccurate claims that “if we didn’t do testing, we would have no cases,” a strategy experts say would backfire with disastrous consequences.
As we open back up while living with this virus, we actually need more testing than ever—of both asymptomatic and symptomatic people—not less. We need cheap, fast, and reliable tests “that can transition us from very strict diagnostic testing to solutions that we can use for screening and surveillance going forward,” Anne Wyllie, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Yale, tells SELF. Without this level of testing, the hope of getting a real handle on COVID-19 in the United States may be a pipe dream.
https://www.self.com/story/we-need-more-coronavirus-testing
Sounds like President "Shit For Brains" has politicized the CDC.
= new reply since forum marked as read
