The CDC Flubbed It

ByBrian Phillips

In a long article published in early June, the New York Times details a long series of mistakes made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus pandemic.

The C.D.C., long considered the world’s premier health agency, made early testing mistakes that contributed to a cascade of problems that persist today as the country tries to reopen. It failed to provide timely counts of infections and deaths, hindered by aging technology and a fractured public health reporting system. And it hesitated in absorbing the lessons of other countries, including the perils of silent carriers spreading the infection.

These mistakes, along with the government’s stranglehold on health care, made a bad situation worse. Click here to read the entire article.

Similar Posts

  • Abbott’s Consistency

    ByBrian Phillips

    Like most of the nation’s governors, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency when the pandemic first started. He then promptly shut down much of the state’s economy in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. A year later, Abbott was one of the first governors to remove mask mandates and…

  • The Burden of Proof

    ByBrian Phillips

    Imagine for a moment what would happen if the government declared, “Since every individual has the potential to commit a felony crime, we are going to incarcerate everyone.” There would be outrage, protests, and defiance. “That is unjust,” the protestors might proclaim. “You are treating innocent citizens the same as actual criminals.” Yet, in principle,…

  • Face the Truth

    ByBrian Phillips

    In late September, William Foege, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent a letter to Robert Redfield, the current director of the CDC. In the letter, Foege calls on Redfield to “face the truth.” In a period of six months, the CDC has gone from the gold standard in…

  • By What Standard?

    ByBrian Phillips

    During the lockdown, businesses that were declared “non-essential” were prohibited from opening. In Texas, liquor stores were considered essential, but hair salons weren’t. By what standard was a business considered essential? Like many aspects of the lockdown, government officials weren’t very transparent regarding their criteria and standards. Instead, they issued dictates and expected the masses…