Savannah Guthrie asks CDC director if memes mocking the agency point to a 'larger credibility problem'
Savannah Guthrie grilled CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Friday's Today show about why the agency's COVID-19 guidelines have been "so confusing."
In her interview with Walensky, the Today anchor asked about the CDC's updates to its COVID-19 isolation recommendations. The agency tweaked its guidelines to reduce the recommended isolation period for people with COVID-19 from 10 days to five days if asymptomatic, and earlier this week, the recommendations were updated again to say that a test isn't necessary to leave isolation but that those who do get a positive test result should continue isolating.
"With all due respect and understanding to the changing and volatile nature of this virus, why is the guidance so confusing?" Guthrie asked.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Walensky defended the guidelines, saying the agency is "standing on the shoulders of years of science," and explained the guidelines were most recently updated so people would know how to interpret a test result at the end of their isolation period if they want to "take that extra step." But Guthrie also asked about people mocking the CDC's advice via a popular meme that involves jokingly coming up with other things the CDC is recommending, such as one tweet Guthrie read: "The CDC now says that it is in fact okay to eat Tide Pods."
"It's amusing, people letting off steam of course, but is there a larger credibility problem with your agency right now?" Guthrie asked.
In response, Walensky defended the CDC as "12,000 people who are working 24/7 following the science with an ever-evolving nature in the midst of a really fast moving pandemic," adding the CDC will "continue to improve how we communicate to the American public." The comments come as CNN reports the CDC director has sought media training to "improve her communication skills" as CDC scientists grow "increasingly frustrated with Walensky's handling of public health guidance."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Shopping trolleys: the new must-have accessory
Speed Read Sales are soaring as new designs help shed that old-fashioned image
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
5 ways to help the environment while on vacation
The Week Recommends An afternoon of planting trees could be the best part of your trip
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Doctors are taking on dental duties in low-income areas
Under the radar Physicians are biting into the dentistry industry
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay
The Explainer Covid is not the only disease with a long version
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published