Tensions rise between the White House and CDC as Birx critiques virus tracking

Source: MSN

As the coronavirus pandemic stretches past its ninth week, tensions are rising between the White House and the nation's leading public health agency. In interviews with CNN, senior administration officials in Washington, as well as top officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta describe a growing sense of mistrust and animosity between the White House and CDC over how quickly the US should reopen and how the government tracks data on the virus.

In particular, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator for the President's coronavirus task force, has become increasingly critical of the CDC, making clear in recent meetings that she is more than frustrated with the agency, according to two senior administration officials. Specifically, Birx believes the way the CDC gathers data on the coronavirus is antiquated, causing inaccurate and delayed numbers on both virus cases and deaths.

Birx has expressed her agitation during recent task force meetings, where at least one conversation between her and CDC Director Robert Redfield has grown heated, according to a source close to the task force. Birx and Redfield have known each other for decades, due to their work on HIV research together. And while Birx defended Redfield to their peers earlier this year over the CDC's faulty test kits, her tone toward him has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, according to multiple officials and a source close to the task force.

There has also been significant tension between the White House and CDC over guidelines on how to reopen the country.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tensions-rise-between-the-white-house-and-cdc-as-birx-critiques-virus-tracking/ar-BB14aWPv?li=BBnb7Kz

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You know that the issue is that the President thinks that the CDC's reported deaths are too high even though it is more likely that current numbers are too low. He wants something like how they reported the official number of deaths due to Hurricane Maria as 64 even though close to 3000 Americans died, which is more than 1000 more than those who died due to Hurricane Katrina.