Topline
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, defended controversial public health decisions her agency has made, like shortening the recommended quarantine time for Americans infected with Covid-19, in a Wednesday interview with the Boston Globe.
Key Facts
Walensky said the CDC’s December decision to shorten its guideline for a 10-day quarantine for those infected with Covid-19 to five—and not recommend a negative test at the end of the period—was based on the Food and Drug Administration’s guidance that rapid tests are best used “as a qualitative test, not a quantitative test” and science that’s “hard to convey” to the public.
Walensky said the shorter quarantine guidelines were meant to alleviate the strains on the healthcare system of so many pharmacists, doctors and nurses being sidelined.
Walensky said that when the agency issued guidance in May saying masks no longer needed to be worn, it should have added that “this may change and we may need to put them back on.”
Walensky said the agency has to make decisions “sometimes without all the data that we would like to make them,” because “if we waited for all the data we wanted on Omicron, the surge would have passed,” and said these are “imperfect times.”
Though Walensky said the agency has had some trouble with messaging, some guidance, like wearing a mask or getting vaccinated “is about as crystal clear as you could be. And still we have much of America not doing it.”
Crucial Quote
“When there’s a public health crisis, the public health agency is partly responsible,” Walensky said. “The CDC alone can’t fix this public health crisis.”
Big Number
63%. That’s how much of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
Key Background
Walensky was appointed head of the CDC one year ago, when President Biden took office. Several medical groups have criticized the agency’s decision to shorten its quarantine period guidelines and not recommend a negative test at the end of it given that some people may still be Covid-positive after five days even if they’re not symptomatic. The American Medical Association called the new guidance “confusing” and “counterproductive,” saying it “put our patients at risk and could further overwhelm our health care system.” The American Nurses Association has also criticized the move.
Further Reading
American Medical Association Latest To Oppose CDC’s Shorter Covid Isolation Guidelines (Forbes)
CDC Cuts Recommended Covid Isolation Time From 10 To 5 Days (Forbes)
