After saying that those exposed to the virus need not get tested, the agency’s director clarified that “testing may be considered” for those people.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking to clarify recommendations on coronavirus testing that incited an uproar, said that “testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable Covid-19 patients.” But his clarification may have further confused the issue. The statement by the director, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, was issued to some news outlets late Wednesday, and more broadly Thursday morning, after a storm of criticism over new C. D. C. guidelines. Those guidelines asserted that people who had been in close contact with an infected individual — typically defined as being within six feet of a person with the coronavirus for at least 15 minutes — “do not necessarily need a test” if they do not have symptoms. Administration officials said that “not necessarily” needing a test was consistent with “may be considered” for one. But experts said the shift in language was leaving patients, doctors and state and local public health officials — who rely on the C. D. C. for guidance — perplexed. “‘May be?’” asked Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University. “I want a little more than that in a recommendation. ‘May be’ doesn’t help.” Democrats including the governors of California and New York as well as Speaker Nancy Pelosi have accused the C. D. C. of bowing to political pressure from President Trump, who wants to minimize the number of cases of infection. Administration officials say the guidelines were the product of a vigorous debate in the White House coronavirus task force. In his statement, Dr. Redfield sought to explain: “Testing is meant to drive actions and achieve specific public health objectives. Everyone who needs a Covid-19 test can get a test. Everyone who wants a test does not necessarily need a test; the key is to engage the needed public health community in the decision with the appropriate follow-up action.” The clarification does not change the new guidelines, which remain on the C. D. C.’s website. But it is unusual. Public health experts say clear, consistent communications are essential to fighting an infectious disease outbreak, and in interviews several said that statements from the C.
