The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says that not everyone exposed to COVID-19 necessarily needs to receive a test — but experts are pushing back.
The CDC has updated its guidance to say that those who are within close contact of someone with COVID-19 but don't have symptoms don't "necessarily need a test" unless they're in a vulnerable group or their health-care provider or state or local officials recommend they receive one. This is different than the old guidance, which said that "testing is recommended for all close contacts of persons with" COVID-19, CNN reports.
The change quickly sparked concern from experts. University of Washington biology professor Dr. Carl Bergstrom called the new recommendations "remarkable and troubling," writing, "The whole point of contact tracing is to find asymptomatic contacts of known cases and isolate them."
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.
Dr. Leana Wen of George Washington University also told CNN these "are exactly the people who should be tested," adding, "I'm concerned that these recommendations suggest someone who has had substantial exposure to a person with COVID-19 now doesn't need to get tested." Wen also tweeted that "this makes no sense" considering "people without symptoms account for up to 50 percent of transmission" and "we need more testing, not less."
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told CNN the guidance "fully supports public health surveillance testing, done in a proactive way through federal, state, and local public health officials."
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
