[BostonCard]

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11...-19-412809

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports are authored by career scientists and serve as the main vehicle for the agency to inform doctors, researchers and the general public about how Covid-19 is spreading and who is at risk. Such reports have historically been published with little fanfare and no political interference, said several longtime health department officials, and have been viewed as a cornerstone of the nation's public health work for decades.

But since Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign official with no medical or scientific background, was installed in April as the health department's new spokesperson, there have been substantial efforts to align the reports with Trump's statements, including the president's claims that fears about the outbreak are overstated, or stop the reports altogether.

Simply put, this is bad for trust.  And it is completely ass backwards.  MMWR articles, which I have shared here on several occasions, should not be edited to "align" with the President's comments.  Full stop.  I don't think I can understate how corrosive this action is on healthcare practitioner's trust in the CDC's scientific output.  I never in a million years thought that articles in MMWR would be manipulated in that way (and I start out with a heavy dose of skepticism about the administration). 

At a minimum, Redfield and Caputo (and their boss, Alex Azar) should resign (narrator: they won't).  It is entirely possible that they have caused irrevocable damage to the institution of the CDC, which has already been hurt by a number of missteps, but this crosses the line beyond sheer incompetence.  I don't think I can really express how upset this makes me.

BC

[BostonCard]

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11...-19-412809

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports are authored by career scientists and serve as the main vehicle for the agency to inform doctors, researchers and the general public about how Covid-19 is spreading and who is at risk. Such reports have historically been published with little fanfare and no political interference, said several longtime health department officials, and have been viewed as a cornerstone of the nation's public health work for decades.

But since Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign official with no medical or scientific background, was installed in April as the health department's new spokesperson, there have been substantial efforts to align the reports with Trump's statements, including the president's claims that fears about the outbreak are overstated, or stop the reports altogether.

Simply put, this is bad for trust.  And it is completely ass backwards.  MMWR articles, which I have shared here on several occasions, should not be edited to "align" with the President's comments.  Full stop.  I don't think I can understate how corrosive this action is on healthcare practitioner's trust in the CDC's scientific output.  I never in a million years thought that articles in MMWR would be manipulated in that way (and I start out with a heavy dose of skepticism about the administration). 

At a minimum, Redfield and Caputo (and their boss, Alex Azar) should resign (narrator: they won't).  It is entirely possible that they have caused irrevocable damage to the institution of the CDC, which has already been hurt by a number of missteps, but this crosses the line beyond sheer incompetence.  I don't think I can really express how upset this makes me.

BC