Dear Reader:

Worldometer (Aug 27): More than 6 million cases and more than 184 thousand deaths in the U.S.; More than 44.6 thousand new cases and 1,289 new deaths yesterday, Aug 26.

Washington Post: We ran the CDC. No president ever politicized its science the way Trump has (July 14): “As America begins the formidable task of getting our kids back to school and all of us back to work safely amid a pandemic that is only getting worse, public health experts face two opponents: covid-19, but also political leaders and others attempting to undermine the Center for Disease Control and Prevention… It is not unusual for CDC guidelines to be changed or amended during a clearance process that moves through multiple agencies and the White House. But it is extraordinary for guidelines to be undermined after their release..

“The CDC is home to thousands of experts who for decades have fought deadly pathogens such as HIV, Zika and Ebola. Despite the inevitable challenges of evolving science and the public’s expectation of certainty, these are the people best positioned to help our country emerge from this crisis as safely as possible. Unfortunately, their sound science is being challenged with partisan potshots, sowing confusion and mistrust at a time when the American people need leadership, expertise and clarity… This is unconscionable and dangerous.”

CNBC: Former CDC director says US coronavirus response mixes politics with science in very dangerous way (July 22);

“Over the course of the nation’s response to the pandemic, however, there’s been conflicting advice from the health community and politicians, such as the decision to mandate face coverings when in public to help curb the spread of Covid-19.. Trump, who resisted wearing a mask for months..”

New York Times, The CDC’s new Covid-19 testing guidelines could make the pandemic worse (Aug 27):

“Prior to this week, the CDC recommended that anyone who had been in close contact with an infected person should get tested, regardless of whether they showed symptoms or not. Now, the government agency says only folks displaying symptoms should seek a coronavirus test… many argue that this new recommendation could falsely decrease the number of reported cases in the United States. The fewer people that get tested, the fewer cases the public will know about..

“Scientists say people with potential Covid-19 exposure should be tested more, not less. Unsurprisingly, experts across the country are already speaking out objecting the more relaxed new guidelines. Major organizations like the American Medical Association and Infectious Disease Society of America put out official statements against the change yesterday.

“‘Testing asymptomatic individuals who have been exposed to a person with Covid-19 remains a critical evidence- based strategy for containing the pandemic and reducing transmission’.. But, the more testing done, the more cases we will discover, a statement President Donald Trump has made several times. He has publicly stated that he’d like to slow down cases t keep case counts low. When questioned further if his statements were a joke back in June, he told CBS.. ‘I don’t kid.’ Additionally, a CDC official told CNN that the new guidelines came from ‘the top down… The idea that we should be testing people less and not more.. seems to be in line with Trump’s claim that he asked his people to slow down testing”.

Politico: Trump officials pressured CDC to change virus testing guidelines (Aug 27): “Top Trump administration officials involved with the White House coronavirus task force ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Protection to stop promoting coronavirus testing for most people who have been exposed to the virus but aren’t showing symptoms”.

Quotes from Trump about testing, June and onward:

– “So the media likes to say we have the most cases, but we do, by far, the most testing. If we did very little testing, we wouldn’t have the most cases. So in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad”, “they would say we have more (cases) than China. I don’t think so… by doing all of the testing.. we’re going to have more cases because we do more testing. Otherwise, you don’t knw if you have a case”.

– “Don’t forget, we have more cases than anyone in the world, but why? Because we do more testing. When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases”.

– “You know, testing is a double-edge sword. We’ve tested now 25 million people. It’s probably 20 million people more than anybody else.. When you’re testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases, so I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”

anita