When the COVID pandemic began, Americans understandably looked to the CDC for sound, science-based guidance. It didn’t take long to realize that that maybe wasn’t the best idea.
The CDC has shown itself to be as corruptible as any other government entity. And the more we learn, the less inclined we are to view the CDC as any sort of authority on health or anything else:
Republicans expose 'uncommon' CDC, teachers' union ties on COVID school reopening guidance in reporthttps://t.co/xEkiSjF48n
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 30, 2022
"The emails revealed that Walensky forwarded the [teachers union] email to Dr. Henry Walke, director of the CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response, who then revised the guidance in accordance with AFT’s request." https://t.co/m0zMCu63FL
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 30, 2022
On Feb. 11, 2021 one day before the CDC publicly posted the [school reopening] guidance, AFT’s senior director of health issues, Kelly Trautner, emailed CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky asking her to insert the line: “In the event high-community transmission results from a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, a new update of these guidelines may be necessary.”
…
The emails also revealed that CDC officials coordinated an early release of the final guidance to the AFT before releasing it to the public.
The Republicans’ report Wednesday says the Biden administration provided the teachers’ unions “unprecedented access to the policymaking process for guidance on re-opening schools.”
“Documents and testimony show, however, that Director Walensky downplayed the degree to which CDC departed from past practice to allow AFT to affect the policymaking process. In fact, CDC allowed AFT to insert language into the Operational Guidance that made it more likely schools across the country would remain closed after February 2021,” says the report.
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Heaven forbid that two groups with legitimate interests in public health issues surrounding school reopening should collaborate.
— Moshe Swartz (@fuzzymoshe) March 30, 2022
Oh, please. Teachers’ unions have no legitimate interests in public health issues surrounding school reopening; they have no interests in public health issues, period. Unless, of course, you consider ensuring their coffers are overflowing to be a public health issue. This was never about protecting the kids; it was about protecting the financial interests of powerful teachers’ unions.
And Rochelle Walensky and the CDC were willing accomplices.
Sigh.
Terrible. https://t.co/KSUib2ISyZ
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) March 30, 2022
Never forget this. Your health agencies were run by the teachers union. This was not science, it was politics. https://t.co/6SlQnRN1MC
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) March 30, 2022
That’s all it ever was.
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