So, that new CDC COVID guidance...

Looked at from a public health standpoint, the CDC’s new screw-it-just-spread-COVID guidance doesn’t actually make health or science sense. They are simply not the guidelines that will protect the greatest number of people from getting COVID. But was it reasonable to expect that from CDC?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a government agency, and as such, policies are going to be a reflection of the government they are part of. CDC, then, is showing us the priorities of the Biden administration. From where I’m sitting, these values look like protecting the economy and avoiding major change to American life. In other words, maintaining the status quo. Don’t upset corporations and corporate donors, don’t ask the population to change their habits, don’t make any of the powerful interests in American politics angry.

Let’s assume absolute best of the Biden administration. That would mean they believe that this approach will maximize wellbeing for the American people - and they do not equate wellbeing solely with health. That still means the new CDC guidance isn’t the your best option if you want to maximize health in your family and community.

The erosion of trust in public and governmental institutions is a genuine problem. You can’t run a country or a society unless people believe in something. Trust is the difference between a community and a bucket of crabs. I have written before about my concern about eroding trust in the CDC.

And yet, is CDC showing itself to be worthy of our trust right now? Or the supreme court? If I complain about the CDC acting against the public health interest, how far is the space between me and the people who think Donald Trump was framed?

My last question – haven’t government institutions always been guided by the priorities of their government creators? Why is it so new and different and enraging now?

I’ll end with commentary from other people

Here’s what the people’s CDC has to say:

The federal government is so committed to convincing people that the pandemic is over that they’d rather let thousands of us die or develop long COVID every week than issue meaningful guidance, reinstitute mask mandates, or bring back any form of pandemic financial assistance.

Katelyn Jetelina from Your Local Epidemiologist:

I was disappointed to see this guidance doubled down on the following:

Leave isolation after 5 days. We see strong evidence that an Omicron infection lasts, on average, 8-10 days. Peak infectiousness is around day 4/5, as demonstrated from an FDA study released earlier this week. While the guidance did state to wear a mask after 5 days and/or avoid high-risk people, this narrative has already been lost.