ORLANDO, Fla. — The Health and Human Services secretary is pushing back after a New York Times article about recent coronavirus testing guidline changes.
What You Need To Know
- NYT article says recent coronavirus test guidelines not cleared by CDC officials
- Secretary Alex Azar addressed article Friday in Orlando
- More Coronavirus headlines
The article reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent coronavirus testing guidelines were not cleared by CDC officials, but instead by Health and Human Services officials.
On Friday in Orlando, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said the CDC director was intimately involved and agreed to the recommendations.
Part of the issue is the guidelines stated anyone without COVID-19 symptoms did not need to get tested — this came as many experts in public health were recommending the opposite — encouraging more people to get tested.
The Times reports that an HHS official wrote the guidelines and handed them off to the CDC.
Now, the CDC released clarification to prior testing guidance on Friday.
Officials say, “Due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, this guidance further reinforces the need to test asymptomatic persons, including close contacts of a person.”