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| === Criticism === | | === Criticism === |
| In 2015, ''[[BMJ]]'' associate editor Jeanne Lenzer raised concerns that the CDC's recommendations and publications may be influenced by donations received through the Foundation, which includes pharmaceutical companies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lenzer |first=Jeanne |date=2015-05-15 |title=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: protecting the private good? |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2362 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=350 |pages=h2362 |doi=10.1136/bmj.h2362 |issn=1756-1833 |pmid=25979454|s2cid=37357486 }}</ref> | | In 2015, ''[[BMJ]]'' associate editor Jeanne Lenzer raised concerns that the CDC's recommendations and publications may be influenced by donations received through the Foundation, which includes pharmaceutical companies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lenzer |first=Jeanne |date=2015-05-15 |title=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: protecting the private good? |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2362 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=350 |pages=h2362 |doi=10.1136/bmj.h2362 |issn=1756-1833 |pmid=25979454|s2cid=37357486 }}</ref> |
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| ==Controversies==
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| ===Tuskegee study of untreated syphilis in Black men===
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| For 15 years, the CDC had direct oversight over the [[Tuskegee syphilis experiment]].<ref name="tuskegee">{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm|title=U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee: The Tuskegee Timeline |publisher=National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC|date = 22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103131421/https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm |archive-date=Jan 3, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the study, which lasted from 1932 to 1972, a group of Black men (nearly 400 of whom had syphilis) were studied to learn more about the disease. The disease was left untreated in the men, who had not given their [[informed consent]] to serve as research subjects. The Tuskegee Study was [[Tuskegee syphilis experiment|initiated in 1932]] by the Public Health Service, with the CDC taking over the Tuskegee Health Benefit Program in 1995.<ref name=tuskegee/>
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| ===Gun control===
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| An area of partisan dispute related to CDC funding is studying firearms effectiveness. Although the CDC was one of the first government agencies to study gun related data, in 1996 the [[Dickey Amendment]], passed with the support of the [[National Rifle Association of America]], states "none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control".<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506002733/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf |archive-date=2009-05-06 |url-status=live|title=Public Law 104-208|date=September 30, 1996|work=Congressional Record|quote=... none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.}}</ref> Advocates for [[Gun politics in the United States|gun control]] oppose the amendment and have tried to overturn it.<ref name=PRI>{{cite web|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-02/quietly-congress-extends-ban-cdc-research-gun-violence|title=Quietly, Congress extends a ban on CDC research on guns|publisher=Pri.org|access-date=2015-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703074353/http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-02/quietly-congress-extends-ban-cdc-research-gun-violence|archive-date=July 3, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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| Looking at the history of the passage of the Dickey Amendment, in 1992, [[Mark L. Rosenberg]] and five CDC colleagues founded the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, with an annual budget of approximately $260,000. They focused on "identifying causes of firearm deaths, and methods to prevent them".<ref name="theatlantic_Masters_2016">{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/cdc-gun-violence/476814 |title=Why Did the CDC Stop Researching Guns? |newspaper=[[The Atlantic]] |quote="The agencys' former leaders say they could do more to explore the subject, but officials fear political{{snd}}and personal{{snd}}retribution." |first=Kate |last=Masters |date=April 5, 2016 |access-date=February 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405110730/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/cdc-gun-violence/476814 |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Their first report, published in the ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'' in 1993 entitled "Guns are a Risk Factor for Homicide in the Home", reported "mere presence of a gun in a home increased the risk of a firearm-related death by 2.7 percent, and suicide fivefold{{snd}}a "huge" increase."<ref name="theatlantic_Masters_2016"/> In response, the NRA launched a "campaign to shut down the Injury Center." Two conservative pro-gun groups, [[Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership]] and Doctors for Integrity and Policy Research joined the pro-gun effort, and, by 1995, politicians also supported the pro-gun initiative. In 1996, [[Jay Dickey]] (R) Arkansas introduced the Dickey Amendment statement stating "none of the funds available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control" as a rider.<ref name="auto"/> in the 1996 [[Appropriations bill (United States)|appropriations bill]]."<ref name="theatlantic_Masters_2016"/> In 1997, "Congress re-directed all of the money for gun research to the study of traumatic brain injury."<ref name="theatlantic_Masters_2016"/> [[David Satcher]], CDC head 1993–98<ref>{{cite web|author=Office of Public Health and Science |title=David Satcher (1998–2002) |url=http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/biosatcher.htm |publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |date=January 4, 2007 |access-date=January 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205160010/http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/history/biosatcher.htm |archive-date=December 5, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> advocated for firearms research.<ref name="theatlantic_Masters_2016"/> In 2016 over a dozen "public health insiders, including current and former CDC senior leaders" told ''[[The Trace (website)|The Trace]]'' interviewers that CDC senior leaders took a cautious stance in their interpretation of the Dickey Amendment and that they could do more but were afraid of political and personal retribution.<ref name="theatlantic_Masters_2016"/>
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| In 2013, the [[American Medical Association]], the [[American Psychological Association]], and the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee asking them "to support at least $10{{nbsp}}million within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2014 along with sufficient new taxes at the National Institutes of Health to support research into the causes and prevention of violence. Furthermore, we urge Members to oppose any efforts to reduce, eliminate, or condition CDC funding related to violence prevention research."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/congressional/Democrats_push_to_restart_CDC_funding_for_gun_violence_research.html|title=Democrats push to restart CDC funding for gun violence research|date=May 21, 2014 |publisher=Philly.com|access-date=2015-11-29}}</ref> Congress maintained the ban in subsequent budgets.<ref name=PRI/>
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| === Ebola ===
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| In October 2014, the CDC gave a nurse with a fever who was later diagnosed with [[Ebola]] permission to board a commercial flight to [[Cleveland]].<ref>{{cite news |date=October 15, 2014 |title=Ebola nurse got CDC OK for Cleveland trip |url=http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/15/second-dallas-hospital-worker-diagnosed-ebola/17290677/ |url-status=dead |access-date=October 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017141442/http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/10/15/second-dallas-hospital-worker-diagnosed-ebola/17290677/ |archive-date=October 17, 2014}}</ref>
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| === COVID-19 ===
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| {{See also|Trump administration communication during the COVID-19 pandemic#Testing|}}
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| The CDC has been widely criticized for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, CDC director [[Rochelle Walensky]] acknowledged "some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes, from testing to data to communications", based on the findings of an internal examination.<ref name=nytreorg>{{Cite news |last1=LaFraniere |first1=Sharon |last2=Weiland |first2=Noah |date=2022-08-17 |title=Walensky, Citing Botched Pandemic Response, Calls for C.D.C. Reorganization |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/us/politics/cdc-rochelle-walensky-covid.html |access-date=2022-08-21 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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| The first confirmed case of [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19]] was discovered in the U.S. on January 20, 2020.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Holshue|first1=Michelle L.|last2=DeBolt|first2=Chas|last3=Lindquist|first3=Scott|last4=Lofy|first4=Kathy H.|last5=Wiesman|first5=John|last6=Bruce|first6=Hollianne|last7=Spitters|first7=Christopher|last8=Ericson|first8=Keith|last9=Wilkerson|first9=Sara|last10=Tural|first10=Ahmet|last11=Diaz|first11=George|date=2020-03-05|title=First Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=382|issue=10|pages=929–936|doi=10.1056/NEJMoa2001191|issn=0028-4793|pmc=7092802|pmid=32004427}}</ref> However, widespread COVID-19 testing in the United States was effectively stalled until February 28, when federal officials revised a faulty CDC test, and days afterward, when the [[Food and Drug Administration]] began loosening rules that had restricted other labs from developing tests.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Whoriskey|first1=Peter|last2=Satija|first2=Neena|title=How U.S. coronavirus testing stalled: Flawed tests, red tape and resistance to using the millions of tests produced by the WHO|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/16/cdc-who-coronavirus-tests/}}</ref> In February 2020, as the CDC's early [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|coronavirus test]] malfunctioned nationwide,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|first1=Sara |last1=Murray|first2=Nick |last2=Valencia|first3=Jeremy |last3=Diamond|first4=Scott |last4=Glover|title=How coronavirus testing fumbles squandered valuable time|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/politics/coronavirus-testing-trump-administration-response-invs/index.html|access-date=2020-08-09|website=[[CNN]]|date=April 20, 2020 }}</ref> CDC Director [[Robert R. Redfield]] reassured fellow officials on the [[White House Coronavirus Task Force]] that the problem would be quickly solved, according to White House officials. It took about three weeks to sort out the failed test kits, which may have been contaminated during their processing in a CDC lab. Later investigations by the FDA and the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]] found that the CDC had violated its own protocols in developing its tests.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Willman|first=David|date=June 20, 2020|title=CDC coronavirus test kits were likely contaminated, federal review confirms|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/cdc-coronavirus-test-kits-were-likely-contaminated-federal-review-confirms/2020/06/20/1ceb4e16-b2ef-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html}}</ref> In November 2020, ''[[NPR]]'' reported that an internal review document they obtained revealed that the CDC was aware that the first batch of tests which were issued in early January had a chance of being wrong 33 percent of the time, but they released them anyway.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Alexandra |title=CDC knew first coronavirus test was flawed but released it anyway: report |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/medical-advances/524784-cdc-knew-first-coronavirus-test-was-flawed-but/ |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=November 6, 2020 |access-date=November 13, 2020}}</ref>
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| In May 2020, ''[[The Atlantic]]'' reported that the CDC was conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests – tests that diagnose current coronavirus infections, and tests that measure whether someone has ever had the virus. The magazine said this distorted several important metrics, provided the country with an inaccurate picture of the state of the pandemic, and overstated the country's testing ability.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Meyer|first=Alexis C. Madrigal, Robinson|date=2020-05-21|title=How Could the CDC Make That Mistake?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/cdc-and-states-are-misreporting-covid-19-test-data-pennsylvania-georgia-texas/611935/|access-date=2020-08-09|website=[[The Atlantic]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
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| In July 2020, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the CDC and instead send all COVID-19 patient information to a database at the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]]. Some health experts opposed the order and warned that the data might become politicized or withheld from the public.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stolberg|first=Sheryl Gay|date=2020-07-14|title=Trump Administration Strips C.D.C. of Control of Coronavirus Data|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/trump-cdc-coronavirus.html|access-date=2020-08-09|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On July 15, the CDC alarmed health care groups by temporarily removing COVID-19 dashboards from its website. It restored the data a day later.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ornstein|first=Charles|title=Out of View: After Public Outcry, CDC Adds Hospital Data Back to Its Website – for Now|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/out-of-view-after-public-outcry-cdc-adds-hospital-data-back-to-its-website-for-now?token=TuMy8gExpvZxdxiWRs7mTz21zSyVml5E|access-date=2020-08-09|website=ProPublica|date=July 16, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Who took down the CDC's coronavirus data? The agency itself.|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/16/who-took-down-the-cdcs-coronavirus-data-the-agency-itself-367018|access-date=2020-08-09|website=[[Politico]]|date=July 16, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=CDC|date=2020-07-16|title=COVID-19 Data Dashboard – Patient Impact & Hospital Capacity|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/covid19/report-patient-impact.html|access-date=2020-08-09|website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|language=en-us}}</ref>
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| In August 2020, the CDC recommended that people showing no COVID-19 symptoms do not need testing. The new guidelines alarmed many public health experts.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wu|first=Katherine J.|date=2020-08-25|title=C.D.C. Now Says People Without Covid-19 Symptoms Do Not Need Testing|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/health/covid-19-testing-cdc.html|access-date=2020-09-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The guidelines were crafted by the [[White House Coronavirus Task Force]] without the sign-off of [[Anthony Fauci]] of the NIH.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sheridan|first=Kate|date=2020-08-27|title=CDC director attempts to clarify controversial Covid-19 testing guidelines|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/27/redfield-clarify-controversial-testing-guidelines/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=STAT|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Branswell|first1=Helen |first2=Kate |last2=Sheridan |date=2020-08-27|title=New Covid-19 testing guidelines, crafted at the White House, alarm public health experts|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/26/new-covid19-testing-guidelines-crafted-at-white-house-alarm-public-health-experts/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=STAT|language=en-US}}</ref> Objections by other experts at the CDC went unheard. Officials said that a CDC document in July arguing for "the importance of reopening schools" was also crafted outside the CDC.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-09-18|title=Covid-19 Live Updates: C.D.C. Website's Controversial Testing Guideline Was Not Written by C.D.C. Scientists|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-09-18|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On August 16, the chief of staff, Kyle McGowan, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, resigned from the agency.<ref name="nytimes.com">Weiland, Noah, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/us/politics/cdc-trump.html 'Like a Hand Grasping': Trump Appointees Describe the Crushing of the C.D.C.]", ''The New York Times'', December 16, 2020.</ref> The testing guidelines were reversed on September 18, 2020, after public controversy.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-09-19|title=After Criticism, C.D.C. Reverses Covid-19 Guidelines on Testing People Who Were Exposed|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/world/covid-coronavirus.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-09-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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| In September 2020, the CDC drafted an order requiring masks on all public transportation in the United States, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force blocked the order, refusing to discuss it, according to two federal health officials.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaplan|first=Sheila|date=2020-10-10|title=Covid-19 Live Updates: White House Blocked C.D.C. From Mandating Masks on Public Transit|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/09/world/covid-coronavirus |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-10-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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| In October 2020, it was disclosed that White House advisers had repeatedly altered the writings of CDC scientists about COVID-19, including recommendations on church choirs, social distancing in bars and restaurants, and summaries of public-health reports.<ref>{{Cite news|first1=Rebecca |last1=Ballhaus |first2=Stephanie |last2=Armour |first3=Betsy |last3=McKay |date=2020-10-15|title=A Demoralized CDC Grapples With White House Meddling and Its Own Mistakes|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-demoralized-cdc-grapples-with-white-house-meddling-and-its-own-mistakes-11602776561 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-10-15|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
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| In the lead up to 2020 [[Thanksgiving]], the CDC advised Americans not to travel for the holiday saying, "It's not a requirement. It's a recommendation for the American public to consider." The White House coronavirus task force had its first public briefing in months on that date but travel was not mentioned.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-11-20|title=Coronavirus: CDC urges Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55011155|access-date=2020-11-21}}</ref>
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| The New York Times later concluded that the CDC's decisions to "ben[d] to political pressure from the Trump White House to alter key public health guidance or withhold it from the public [...] cost it a measure of public trust that experts say it still has not recaptured" as of 2022.<ref name=nytreorg/>
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| In May 2021, following criticism by scientists, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance to acknowledge airborne transmission of COVID-19, after having previously claimed that the majority of infections occurred via "close contact, not airborne transmission".<ref>{{Cite web |last=May |first=Brandon |date=2021-05-10 |title=After Months of Prodding, CDC Updates Guidance on COVID-19 Airborne Transmission |url=https://www.biospace.com/article/cdc-s-updated-guidance-includes-statement-on-covid-19-airborne-transmission-/ |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=BioSpace |language=en-US}}</ref>
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| In December 2021, following a request from the CEO of [[Delta Air Lines]], CDC shortened its recommended isolation period for asymptomatic individuals infected with COVID-19 from 10 days to five.<ref>{{Cite news |work=NPR |url= https://www.npr.org/2021/12/29/1068731487/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-to-cut-quarantine |title= Delta's CEO asked the CDC for a 5-day isolation. Some flight attendants feel at risk |first1=Deepa |last1=Shivaram |date=December 29, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204135120/https://www.npr.org/2021/12/29/1068731487/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-to-cut-quarantine |archive-date= Feb 4, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shepardson |first=David |date=December 21, 2021 |title=Delta CEO asks CDC to cut quarantine time for breakthrough COVID cases |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-cut-quarantine-time-breakthrough-covid-cases-2021-12-21/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714122900/https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/delta-ceo-asks-cdc-cut-quarantine-time-breakthrough-covid-cases-2021-12-21/ |archive-date=Jul 14, 2023 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=US shortens Covid-19 isolation window amid airline push |url=https://www.argusmedia.com/metals-platform/newsandanalysis/article/2287248-US-shortens-Covid-19-isolation-window-amid-airline-push |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=Argus Metals |date=28 December 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101203244/https://www.argusmedia.com/metals-platform/newsandanalysis/article/2287248-US-shortens-Covid-19-isolation-window-amid-airline-push |archive-date=2023-11-01 }}</ref>
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| Until 2022, the CDC withheld critical data about COVID-19 vaccine boosters, hospitalizations and wastewater data.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mandavilli |first=Apoorva |date=2022-02-20 |title=The C.D.C. Isn't Publishing Large Portions of the Covid Data It Collects |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/health/covid-cdc-data.html |access-date=2022-08-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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| On June 10, 2022, the Biden Administration ordered the CDC to remove the COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 11, 2022 |title=US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country |newspaper=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/10/politics/us-to-end-pre-departure-testing-requirement/index.html |last1=Collins |first1=Kaitlan }}</ref>
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| In January 2022, it was revealed that the CDC had communicated with moderators at [[Facebook]] and [[Instagram]] over COVID-19 information and discussion on the platforms, including information that the CDC considered false or misleading and that might influence people not to get the COVID-19 vaccines.<ref>Flood, Brian, "[https://www.foxnews.com/media/emails-show-cdc-significant-influence-covid-policies-facebook-worked-silence-vaccine-dissent Emails show CDC had 'significant influence' on COVID policies at Facebook, worked to 'silence' vaccine dissent]", [[Fox News]], 19 January 2022</ref>
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| ====Controversy over the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report====
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| During the pandemic, the CDC [[Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report]] (MMWR) came under pressure from political appointees at the [[Department of Health and Human Services]] (HHS) to modify its reporting so as not to conflict with what Trump was saying about the pandemic.<ref name = Diamond>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809|title=Trump officials interfered with CDC reports on Covid-19|last=Diamond|first=Dan|date=September 11, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>
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| Starting in June 2020, [[Michael Caputo]], the HHS assistant secretary for public affairs, and his chief advisor [[Paul Elias Alexander|Paul Alexander]] tried to delay, suppress, change, and retroactively edit MMR releases about the effectiveness of potential treatments for COVID-19, the transmissibility of the virus, and other issues where the president had taken a public stance.<ref name="Diamond" /> Alexander tried unsuccessfully to get personal approval of all issues of MMWR before they went out.<ref name="Sun">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/12/trump-control-over-cdc-reports/ |url-access=subscription |title=Trump officials seek greater control over CDC reports on coronavirus|last=Sun|first=Lena H.|date=September 12, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>
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| Caputo claimed this oversight was necessary because MMWR reports were being tainted by "political content"; he demanded to know the political leanings of the scientists who reported that [[hydroxychloroquine]] had little benefit as a treatment while Trump was saying the opposite.<ref name="Diamond" /> In emails Alexander accused CDC scientists of attempting to "hurt the president" and writing "hit pieces on the administration".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-politics-cdc.html |last1=Weiland |first1=Noah |last2=Stolberg |first2=Sheryl Gay |last3=Goodnough |first3=Abby |url-access=subscription |title=Political Appointees Meddled in C.D.C.'s 'Holiest of the Holy' Health Reports|date=September 12, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref>
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| In October 2020, emails obtained by ''Politico'' showed that Alexander requested multiple alterations in a report. The published alterations included a title being changed from "Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults" to "Persons." One current and two former CDC officials who reviewed the email exchanges said they were troubled by the "intervention to alter scientific reports viewed as untouchable prior to the Trump administration" that "appeared to minimize the risks of the coronavirus to children by making the report's focus on children less clear."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Diamond |first1=Dan |title=Trump official pressured CDC to change report on Covid and kids |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/05/trump-cdc-coronavirus-report-change-425538 |website=[[Politico]]|date=October 5, 2020 |access-date=October 7, 2020}}</ref>
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| ==== Eroding trust in the CDC as a result of COVID-19 controversies ====
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| A poll conducted in September 2020 found that nearly 8 in 10 Americans trusted the CDC, a decrease from 87 percent in April 2020. Another poll showed an even larger drop in trust with the results dropping 16 percentage points.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Monroe|first=Madeline|date=2020-09-15|title=Polls show trust in scientific, political institutions eroding|url=https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/516412-polls-show-trust-in-scientific-political-institutions-eroding/|access-date=2020-11-15|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en}}</ref> By January 2022, according to an [[NBC News]] poll, only 44% of Americans trusted the CDC compared to 69% at the beginning of the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hamblin |first=James |date=2022-03-12 |title=Can Public Health Be Saved? |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/public-health-trust.html |access-date=2022-04-01 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As the trustworthiness eroded, so too did the information it disseminates.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> The diminishing level of trust in the CDC and the information releases also incited "[[vaccine hesitancy]]" with the result that "just 53 percent of Americans said they would be somewhat or extremely likely to get a vaccine."<ref name=":2" />
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| In September 2020, amid the accusations and the faltering image of the CDC, the agency's leadership was called into question. Former acting director at the CDC, [[Richard E. Besser|Richard Besser]], said of Redfield that "I find it concerning that the CDC director has not been outspoken when there have been instances of clear political interference in the interpretation of science."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2020-09-16|title=CDC director is seen as allowing agency to buckle to political influence|url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/16/as-controversies-swirl-cdc-director-is-seen-as-allowing-agency-to-buckle-to-political-influence/|access-date=2020-11-15|website=STAT|language=en-US}}</ref> In addition, [[Mark L. Rosenberg|Mark Rosenberg]], the first director of CDC's [[National Center for Injury Prevention and Control]], also questioned Redfield's leadership and his lack of defense of the science.<ref name=":3" />
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| Historically, the CDC has not been a political agency; however, the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], and specifically the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic, resulted in a "dangerous shift" according to a previous CDC director and others. Four previous directors claim that the agency's voice was "muted for political reasons."<ref>{{cite web |title=CDC's politicization 'extremely dangerous' for Americans, says its former head |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cdcs-politicization-extremely-dangerous-for-americans-says-its-former-head |website=[[PBS NewsHour]] |date=July 14, 2020 |access-date=May 7, 2021}}</ref> Politicization of the agency has continued into the Biden administration as COVID-19 guidance is contradicted by State guidance<ref>{{cite web |title=New CDC guidance won't end NY mask mandate yet, Cuomo says |url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/05/13/cdc-guidance-mask-mandate-new-york-cuomo/5081053001/ |website=Iohud |access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref> and the agency is criticized as "CDC's credibility is eroding".<ref>{{cite web |title='CDC's credibility is eroding' amid conflicting mask guidance, ex-Obama official says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/11/cdcs-credibility-is-eroding-amid-conflicting-mask-guidance-ex-obama-official-says.html |website=[[CNBC]]|date=May 12, 2021 |access-date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
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| In 2021, the CDC, then under the leadership of the Biden administration, received criticism for its mixed messaging surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|mask-wearing guidance]], and the state of the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chow|first=Denise|date=2021-04-06|title=CDC's messaging problem highlights pandemic's uncertain future|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/cdcs-messaging-problem-highlights-pandemics-uncertain-future-rcna602|access-date=2021-04-17|website=[[NBC News]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stanley-Becker |first1=Isaac |last2=Guarino |first2=Ben |last3=Stead Sellers |first3=Frances |last4=Eunjung Cha |first4=Ariana |last5=Sun |first5=Lena H. |title=CDC's mask guidance spurs confusion and criticism, as well as celebration |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/05/14/cdc-mask-update-decision-confusion/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
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| == Publications == | | == Publications == |