House lawmakers want reversal of Trump’s COVID-19 reporting changes, cite ‘politicization of public health’

Trump Administration required hospitals to stop reporting stats to CDC
Marisa Schultz, Fox News – July 19, 2020
h/t Vic on A♠

House Democrats overseeing the coronavirus response called on the Trump Administration to reverse a decision that directed all hospitals to stop sending daily COVID-19 data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitals were instructed starting July 15 to bypass the CDC and send daily patient information to the Department of Health and Human Services through a system operated by a contractor, TeleTracking.

“We urge you to reverse this decision, restore this data collection role to the CDC, and take all necessary steps to ensure that essential data is collected and publicly reported free from political interference,” three House Democrats wrote in a letter to the Trump Administration.  “We are concerned that this decision may represent yet another example of the Administration’s continuing politicization of public health during the coronavirus pandemic.”

If you dig down into the article, you can find this:

Trump Administration officials cited a lag time of at least a week in the CDC reporting system.

CDC Director Robert Redfield backed the decision and said the new process will streamline reporting and will provide rapid ways to update the type of data collected.

“No one is taking access or data away from CDC,” Redfield said Wednesday.…

Which makes me wonder why

In an op-ed published Tuesday in the Washington Post, four former CDC directors – who served during both Republican and Democratic administrations – accused Trump and top coronavirus task force officials of politicizing scientific data released by the national public health institute.

Of course, “served under… Republican… administrations” is not necessarily a positive credential. Projection.

---

Posted by: rickb223 on A♠ at July 20, 2020 12:05 PM

Posted by: Clyde Shelton on A♠ at July 20, 2020 12:10 PM

Clyde’s link goes to this:
U.S. health officials say Americans shouldn’t wear face masks to prevent coronavirus — here are 3 other reasons not to wear them
Elisabeth Buchwald, MarketWatch – March 2, 2020

Most people don’t use face masks correctly, a Johns Hopkins public health expert told MarketWatch

---

Wuhan Coronavirus Death Rate Drops for Twelfth Straight Week

Bronson Stocking, Town Hall – Jul 17, 2020

---

Speaking of politicized:

Filings show all but five political donations from CDC employees since 2015 have gone to Democrats

Dominick Mastrangelo, Washinton Examiner – July 18, 2020
h/t Vic on A♠

---

The COVID Coup

Angelo Codevilla, American Mind, July 17, 2020
h/t SMH on A♠

Panicked by fears manufactured by the ruling class, the American people assented to being put essentially under house arrest until further notice, effectively suspending the habits, preferences, and liberties that had defined our way of life. Most Americans have suffered economic damage. Many who do not enjoy protected status have had careers ended and been reduced to penury. Social strains and suicides multiplied. Forcibly deferring all manner of medical care is sure to impose needless suffering and death. In sum, the lockdowns’ medical and economic dysfunctions make for multiples of the deaths and miseries of the COVID-19 virus itself.

Bad judgments and usurpations—the scam, not the germs—define this disaster’s dimensions. The COVID-19’s devastating effect on the U.S. body politic is analogous to what diseases do to persons whom age (senectus ipsa est morbus) and various debilities and corruptions had already placed on death’s slippery slope.

[A long but detailed review of the Kung Flu mess]

---

First they said, it’s just a mask, but it really doesn’t do anything so you don’t need to wear it (unless you’re in a hot zone in a hospital setting);
Then they said, it’s just a mask, and you should probably wear a mask if you’re in contact with a lot of people;
Then they said, it’s just a mask, and you need to wear one if you go into a business that we have graciously allowed to stay open;
Then they said, it’s just a mask, but you must wear one in a business or we’ll close down the business;
Then they said, it’s just a mask, and if you don’t wear one in public we’ll fine the heck out of you, charge you with a misdemeanor (or felony) under non-legislative administrative law, and haul you into court;
Then they said, it’s just a mask, but you must wear one indoors in your own home (while remaining in full view of the surveillance cameras)!

I can hardly wait for tomorrow’s health tip!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar -YOU are all in this together!- on A♠ at July 21, 2020

---