Tag

#COVID

3 incidents

Updated December 1, 2020 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Scott Atlas and Herd Immunity: Trump's COVID Advisor Who Contradicted Scientists

Atlas was a Hoover Institution senior fellow and media commentator with no relevant credentials for pandemic response. Trump appointed him after seeing him on Fox News. Atlas advocated the Great Barrington Declaration approach — allowing the virus to spread among the young and healthy while 'protecting' the vulnerable. Public health experts pointed out this approach was not operationally feasible and would require accepting enormous numbers of preventable deaths. CDC Director Robert Redfield and the Coronavirus Task Force's other scientific advisors repeatedly contradicted Atlas. Deborah Birx described Atlas in her memoir as actively harmful to the pandemic response.

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COVIDherd-immunityScott-Atlasfirst-termpublic-health
Updated October 1, 2020 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

CDC and FDA Political Interference: Science Overridden for Political Messaging

The Washington Post and New York Times documented a pattern of White House interference with CDC scientific publications. CDC reports in the MMWR — the agency's flagship peer-reviewed publication that had never previously been subject to political review — were reviewed and in some cases altered by Michael Caputo, a political appointee installed at HHS with no public health credentials. Caputo was later placed on leave after a Facebook video in which he accused CDC scientists of a 'resistance unit' against Trump. CDC Director Redfield testified that CDC school reopening guidance was replaced after Trump tweeted that it was 'very tough and expensive.' The FDA's hydroxychloroquine EUA and convalescent plasma approval were both accompanied by documented political pressure.

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4
CDCFDACOVIDscience-interferencefirst-term
Updated July 7, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
Major Abuse of Power

WHO Withdrawal: Leaving World Health Organization During COVID Pandemic

Trump had previously threatened to withdraw or defund the WHO in April 2020; in May he made the withdrawal formal. Critics noted that withdrawing from the WHO during a pandemic eliminated U.S. influence over the global response to the same pandemic — including over vaccine development coordination, variant tracking, and equitable distribution programs. The U.S. would lose voting rights, committee seats, and the ability to shape WHO standards and guidelines. Allies and public health experts across the political spectrum criticized the decision. Biden rejoined the WHO within hours of taking office on January 20, 2021.

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WHOCOVIDforeign-policyfirst-termmultilateralism