‘It is a slaughter’: Public health champion asks CDC director to expose White House, orchestrate his own firing

‘A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health titan who led the eradication of smallpox asked the embattled, current CDC leader to expose the failed U.S. response to the coronavirus, calling on him to orchestrate his own firing to protest White House interference. William Foege, a renowned epidemiologist who served under Democratic and Republican presidents, detailed in a private letter he sent last month to CDC Director Robert Redfield his alarm over how the agency has fallen in stature while the pandemic raged across America.

“You could upfront, acknowledge the tragedy of responding poorly, apologize for what has happened and your role in acquiescing,” Foege wrote to Redfield. He said simply resigning without coming clean would be insufficient. “Don’t shy away from the fact this has been an unacceptable toll on our country. It is a slaughter and not just a political dispute.”

Read here (USA Today, Oct 7, 2020)

Rapid, cheap home tests: Companies attempt to make coronavirus tests widely available

‘Nearly two months after federal regulators unveiled rules for at-home coronavirus tests, no company has federal approval to sell these fast and cheap tests even though the technology is ready.

‘Molecular PCR tests processed at medical labs remain the standard of accurate testing, but they are more expensive and results can take days to process. Antigen tests are less expensive, plentiful and deliver results in minutes. Three companies gained Food and Drug Administration authorization to sell antigen testing instruments to labs or clinics. A fourth company, Abbott Laboratories, won approval to market a $5 rapid, credit card-sized test administered by a health care professional.

‘But no company has been cleared to sell tests directly to consumers for widespread screening – a step some believe is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19, as more than 200,000 Americans have died and people worry about safely returning to work, school, travel or sporting events. “The way to get this under control is if people find out as early as possible they are infected and then quarantine from others,” said Dr. Yukari Manabe, a Johns Hopkins University professor of medicine.’

Read here (USA Today, Sept 25, 2020)