CDC

Testing contacts of those with confirmed cases of the coronavirus is a common public health practice. New CDC guidelines make it optional.

Health & Safety

CDC's Changed Testing Guidelines Could Lead To Less Testing, Experts Fear

8:30pm August 26, 2020

by Richard Harris

The agency now says contacts of people with COVID-19 don't necessarily need to get tested. Public health experts say less testing of potential carriers could lead to more spread of the disease.

Dr. Deborah Birx speaks to reporters this week outside the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in Little Rock. Birx indicated that data on U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations will move back to the CDC under a "revolutionary new data system" the agency is developing.

Health & Safety

Birx Stokes Hopes That Key Hospital Data Tracking Will Soon Return To CDC

8:53pm August 20, 2020

by Pien Huang

Dr. Deborah Birx says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is creating a new way to track COVID-19 hospitalizations a month after such data collection was moved outside the agency.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is calling on Americans to do their part to contain the coronavirus as flu season comes into view.

CDC Director Warns This Fall Could Be The Worst Ever For Public Health

8:41pm August 13, 2020

by Rachel Treisman

In an interview with WebMD, CDC Director Robert Redfield warned of the dual threat of the coronavirus and flu season. He urged Americans to follow COVID-19 health guidance and get the flu vaccine.

The Trump administration abruptly required hospitals to stop reporting COVID data to CDC and use a new reporting system set up by a contractor. Two weeks in, the promised improvements in the data have yet to materialize.

Health & Safety

COVID-19 Hospital Data System That Bypasses CDC Plagued By Delays, Inaccuracies

5:35am July 31, 2020

After the Trump administration moved hospital COVID-19 data reporting to HHS, bypassing the CDC, the new data system has been rife with erratic updates and anomalies.

C.D.C. researchers estimate that although a majority of Americans haven't been exposed to the coronavirus, the actual infection rate is roughly 10 times higher. Data released on Tuesday showed the results of analyzed samples from 10 regions, including the

Coronavirus Infections Far Higher Than Confirmed But Most Americans Still Not Exposed

10:26pm July 21, 2020

by Jason Slotkin

Data from the CDC estimates that roughly 10 times the amount of people have the virus than have been documented. The number is still far below what experts say would be needed for widespread immunity.

Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, discussed the resurgence in coronavirus cases in the state this week. The state hospital association fears there will be delays in getting coronavirus data under new federal rul

With CDC Sidelined, Some States Lose Access To Timely COVID-19 Hospital Data

10:00pm July 17, 2020

by Alex Smith

Health and hospital officials in two states report that a Trump administration change to how pandemic data is collected has left them unable to access vital information.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., organized a letter signed by 44 Senate Democrats and the chamber's two independents on Friday, urging the White House to withdraw changes to hospital reporting requirements.

Congressional Democrats Demand White House Restore COVID-19 Data Collection To CDC

3:17pm July 17, 2020

by Pien Huang

Senators and House members have separately issued letters calling for the Trump administration to undo a controversial move redirecting hospitals' coronavirus information.

The Trump administration is requiring hospitals to report COVID-19 data to a new system, sidestepping the CDC.

White House Strips CDC Of Data Collection Role For COVID-19 Hospitalizations

4:48pm July 15, 2020

The Trump administration is directing hospitals to use a new platform to report COVID-19 data instead of an existing system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A letter from current CDC staff recently submitted to Director Robert Redfield demands that the agency address structural racism toward Black employees.

CDC Employees Call Out Agency's 'Toxic Culture Of Racial Aggressions'

6:20pm July 13, 2020

Pointing to the pandemic's disproportionate toll on people of color, over 1,200 workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call on the agency to declare racism a public health crisis.

Queue Listen Now

A CDC entry on social distancing had originally recommended suspending or reducing the use of singing and choirs in church services. The entry was later revised, and the warning about choirs was removed.

CDC Quickly Changed Its Guidance On Limiting Choirs At Religious Services

6:18pm May 29, 2020

by Bill Chappell

A federal official says the White House had not approved the initial version, which included the warning, "The act of singing may contribute to transmission of COVID-19."