By Carl O’Donnell, Vishwadha Chander and Manojna Maddipatla
(Reuters) – Most U.S. states have rejected the Trump administration’s new COVID-19 verification rules in an ordinary reprimand from the nation’s most sensible disease prevention firm, according to state fitness firm officials and revised public statements through Reuters.
At least 33 states continue to propose testing to others who have been exposed to COVID-19 and have no symptoms, rejecting the rules published this week through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They indicate that the evidence would possibly be unnecessary. Sixteen states did not respond to requests for comment, and North Dakota said it had not made a decision.
States that break with the federal government come with conservatives Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona.
Public fitness experts have said that a break of this magnitude with the CDC may be unprecedented and reflect a growing mistrust in Trump’s direction and his reaction to the pandemic.
“These are states that almost all oppose the new guidelines,” said Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The CDC said Monday that others exposed to COVID-19 but who have no symptoms “don’t necessarily want a check unless a vulnerable user or their fitness service provider or state or local fitness officials propose that they take one.”
In the past, the CDC tested all Americans who had close contact with a user diagnosed with COVID-19. This remains the policy of at least 30 states. Some who have not replaced politics have said they are reading CDC guidelines.
(GRAPHIC: Most U.S. states Reject NEW CDC COVID-19 Rules: https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/TESTING/dgkvllbbrvb/chart.png)
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, said the new rules do not discourage other asymptomatic people from getting tested.
He said officials breaking with the administration “have misunderstood the rules. Cdc rules state that “the resolution to be tested will have to be made in collaboration with public fitness officials or your fitness service provider based on individual cases and status. outreach to the community. ‘”
Some state leaders and public fitness experts accuse the administration of using politics instead of science to advise its reaction to the pandemic.
“This 180-degree investment in COVID-19 verification rules is reckless, science-based, and has the potential to damage the long-term (CDC)reputation,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut said in a statement, rejecting the CDC’s new rules.
Admiral Brett Giroir, HHS undersecretary of fitness, said there is no political tension on the part of the administration. He said testing asymptomatic patients too soon can produce false negatives and contribute to the spread of the virus.
“You don’t need to get tested for five to seven days (after infection) because you won’t test positive,” said David Battinelli, medical director of Northwell Health, acknowledging test considerations too soon. “A lot of tests are underway.”
Idaho recommends that others exposed to COVID-19 contact their doctor if they want to get tested. This was one of the states that did not respond to a request for comment on CDC guidelines.
Public aptitude officials who U.S. want to conduct tests more frequently, it is very important to locate asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers to decrease spread, and that CDC comments may discourage mandatory testing.
Even before CDC guidelines, the number of coronavirus tests performed decreased. The United States assessed an average of 675,000 other people a day last week, compared to a peak of more than 800,000 other people a day at the end of July.
Nationally, cases have declined for five consecutive weeks, but infections are emerging in the Midwest of the U.S., and 4 states reported a cumulative day record on Thursday when the death toll in the United States soared above 180,000.
(Report through Carl O’Donnell, Vishwadha Chander and Manojna Maddipatla; edited through Peter Henderson and Daniel Wallis)