we screwed up COVID

People who do not read newspapers, had their cable shut off for lack of payment, or took a rocket keeping them away from the Earth since 2019 might find this news to be surprising.

On Wednesday, Center for Disease Control (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky admitted they screwed up their response to COVID-19. As Homer Simpson might respond, “DOH.” Americans have been saying that all along. Take the six-foot separation, for example. There was no scientific basis for it. The CDC pulled that out of their magician’s hat.

Remember the two-week-long quarantine? The CDC recently shortened that to five days.

Walensky also said the agency needs to acknowledge the flaws of its response to Covid-19. Those mistakes date to the earliest days of the pandemic when a test designed by CDC scientists to detect the new disease failed to work on the ground — leaving the country blind to how quickly the SARS-CoV-2 virus was transmitting at a critical juncture when aggressive measures could have slowed Covid’s spread.

Walensky also said the agency needs to acknowledge the flaws of its response to Covid-19. Those mistakes date to the earliest days of the pandemic, when a test designed by CDC scientists to detect the new disease failed to work on the ground — leaving the country blind to how quickly the SARS-CoV-2 virus was transmitting at a critical juncture when aggressive measures could have slowed Covid’s spread.

The medical term for that is “Sh*t we really f**ked up.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, the CDC refused to recommend that the public wear masks — not because they thought masks were ineffective, but because they worried that public demand would cause a shortage of masks for health care workers.

As the pandemic grew, they practically recommended people staple the masks to their faces. Then they said masks weren’t needed. This was followed by the CDC announcing that masks were needed again.

When they recommended that people wear masks, people lost jobs, stopped traveling, and even invite Dr. Fauci to throw out the first ball at a Washington Nationals game. But they added changed the guidelines for outdoor activities, and new charts for indoor and outdoor recommendation

Eventually, the CDC said masks weren’t needed if you were at an outdoor event, cancel Christmas events (except for Jews. we don’t observe Christmas). Americans were promised that people who received the vaccine would not get Covid. Eventually, they announced it wouldn’t prevent Covid. It would ensure that any incident of Covid will not be severe for the vaccinated. I got the two initial shots and the two boosters. I don’t know what they meant by less severe, but I practically coughed up a lung, had a high temperature, and felt I was hit by a truck.

Those are only a few of their screw-ups. To address their failed response to the pandemic and attempt to reestablish the CDC’s reputation Rochelle Walensky announced:

A series of changes with CDC leadership and staff designed to “transform” the organization and its work culture by improving how the agency shares information, develops public health guidance, and communicates with the American public.

“For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” Walensky said in a statement.  “My goal is a new, public health action-oriented culture at CDC that emphasizes accountability, collaboration, communication, and timeliness.”

The central objectives of the reorganization are focused on sharing scientific data faster and making it easier for the public to understand health guidance, according to the briefing document. Walensky launched the review in April after the massive winter surge of infections from the omicron variant upended the nation’s public health response.

I don’t have confidence that their changes will work because the CDC screwed up and admonished the Americans who disagreed with their approach. However, if I am wrong, I will admit it right away because I don’t work for the CDC.