COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US)
Let me more strongly reinforce my sentiment: If a CDC Administrator made the decision (for whatever reason, maybe political, idk), to cover something up and blatantly lie, not only should they be fired, but have criminal charges brought up, especially if they had solid proof of something they were lying about. This is not a scientist choosing something based on science, but an Administrator who is making the decision. AND, I do not care if that Administrator had scientific training earlier in their life, they are making that decision in the context of being an Administrator.
By Administrators, I am referring to the higher ups at the CDC, those who are in charge of coming up with and implementing policy to this country, not the secretaries, not the facilities managers, not the custodians.
So my problem with the CDC is rooted in their early handling of this. We were short on PPE so they changed requirements to accommodate those shortages. As someone married to a healthcare worker that ticked me off. Changing requirements to fit supply is not what a scientist should do... especially when it's putting my wife and family at risk. That's not science. Lack of PPE doesn't make this virus any less dangerous. It's one thing to be short on PPE which was bad enough but when the CDC says you can wear a bandana it gives the hospital all it needs to send my wife into a covid room with a damn bandana on her face.
I totally understand your anger, and I agree, the way the CDC handled this was bad. Again, that is in the context of Administration people making decisions, and setting policy, which technically is their job. This time, they did it poorly, and maybe they should be replaced. But without firing all the working scientists and technicians who have incredible amounts of education and training. Another reason for this would be to protect from the loss of continuity, in other words the transfer of working knowledge, from 1 generation of scientists to the next.