If scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had the power to curb the spread of the coronavirus, schools would cancel football, band, and other activities, according to CNN.
But Dr. William Schaffner, an adviser to the CDC for many years, noted it was “unlikely, unreasonable, and unrealistic” to believe Americans would adhere to the agency’s suggestions.
“Making public health recommendations — they are not a platonic ideal,” Schaffner said. “They have to work in the real world.”
The “out-of-touch” advice has been a hallmark of several CDC suggestions before the coronavirus pandemic began, “and the agency needs to do better, said current and former health officials and physicians who have worked with the CDC on health guidance,” the CNN report read.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee July 20, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images)
Walensky explained the agency “prioritized academics over athletics because of the increased risks involved in some extracurricular sports. ”
“When followed, our school guidance has been incredibly effective. In the fall, 99 percent of schools were able to remain open during the intense delta wave of COVID,” she added.
But part of the problem, according to Schaffner and others, was the CDC scientists were “sometimes stuck in a bubble,” the report said.
In its guidance updated January 6, the CDC encouraged schools to “cancel or hold high-risk sports and extra-curricular activities virtually” whenever a community experienced a “high” coronavirus transmission rate.
Walensky recently promised to improve the agency’s messaging regarding the coronavirus following a wave of criticism from different media outlets, Breitbart News reported Monday:
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) took a wave of criticism when it recently announced that people who test positive for the coronavirus can exit quarantine after just five days without a negative test if they show mild to no symptoms. Health experts believed the decision stemmed from a shortage in tests largely due to the Biden administration’s lack of preparation.
During an interview Monday on Fox News Channel’s the Story, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said we needed “someone who is compassionate, who is consistent, and where the messaging is clear” from the CDC.
Khanna also floated Dr. Ashish Jha to take over for Walensky as the leader of the agency, adding, “There may be others. But I do think we need clearer, better communication.”