‘This change in policy will kill’: Experts troubled by CDC changes to COVID-19 testing guidelines

  • USA Today | by: Adrianna Rodriguez |
  • 08/26/2020 12:00 AM
‘This change in policy will kill’: Experts troubled by CDC changes to COVID-19 testing guidelines
Photo Credit: Tami Chappell/Reuters

The CDC estimates in its COVID-19 Pandemic Planning Scenarios that 40% of infections are asymptomatic and 50% of transmissions occur before symptoms appear. Experts worry that failing to test asymptomatic carriers could not only result in more infections but also hinder contact tracing efforts.

“If being in close personal contact with an infected person … isn’t sufficiently important enough to get tested, I don’t see that there’s any value in contact tracing,” said Peter Pitts, president of the nonprofit Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.

A spokesperson at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told CNN the change wouldn’t “undermine contact tracing or any other types of surveillance testing.”

Though Pitts said the change in CDC guidelines “is not permission to do away with testing,” he’s worried that some may take it that way. He said the agency should  encourage more testing.

 
Sign Up for Our Email Newsletter

RECENT NEWS

Sorry, but the ‘drugs from Canada’ don’t work

Sorry, but the ‘drugs from Canada’ don’t work

“Drugs from Canada” is a policy that won’t work. And a political soundbite that won’t die....  Read more

Product Failure Is Not Process Failure

Product Failure Is Not Process Failure

FDA be nimble. FDA be quick. FDA jump over the bureaucratic schtick....  Read more

The Future of U.S. Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Supply Chain Security Lies in the Abraham Accords Region

The Future of U.S. Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Supply Chain Security Lies in the Abraham Accords Region

Congress must enact legislation that pushes our country forward, builds bridges where there are gaps, and leverages strat...  Read more

DRUGWONKS BLOG