Tag Archives: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

USDA and Meatpacking Industry Collaborated to Undermine Covid-19 Response, Documents Show

Hundreds of emails obtained by Public Citizen and American Oversight offer a rare inside look at the meat industry’s power and access to the highest levels of government.

By Brett Wilkins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-15-2020

Some critics have called keeping meat processing plants open during the Covid-19 pandemic a “death sentence” for workers.. Screenshot: CBS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the meatpacking industry worked together to downplay and disregard risks to worker health during the Covid-19 pandemic, as shown in documents published Monday by Public Citizen and American Oversight.

The documents (pdf), which the groups obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, reveal that a week before President Donald Trump issued his controversial executive order in April to keep meatpacking plants open—overriding closure orders from local health officials—a leading meat industry lobby group drafted a proposed executive order that was strikingly similar to Trump’s directive. Continue reading

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Emails Show How Trump Official at HHS Tried to Get Fauci to Downplay Covid-19 Threat to School Children

“This sort of story will be recalled years from now as an example of the government interfering with science, with predictably disastrous results.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-9-2020

Screenshot: ABC News

Reporting from Politico Wednesday revealed that a Trump-allied official within the Department of Health and Human Services tried to censor Dr. Anthony Fauci from communicating to the press dangers the coronavirus may pose to school children.

According to Politico, the messaging directives came from Paul Alexander, a Trump administration appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services. Alexander is a senior adviser to Michael Caputo, a Trump ally and assistant HHS secretary for public affairs. Continue reading

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Democrats Demand Trump Reverse ‘Irresponsible’ Order as States Lose Access to Crucial Covid-19 Data

“The Trump administration’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 response and refusal to heed public health expertise continue to put the country in a dangerous position.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-19-2020

TMD testing for COVID-19 on 6-15-2020. Photo: TMD

Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate are demanding that the Trump administration immediately reverse an order requiring hospitals to send Covid-19 patient information directly to a Health and Human Services database instead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a change that threw the data-collection process into chaos as states struggle to cope with soaring infections.

NPR reported Friday that “hospital data in Kansas and Missouri is suddenly incomplete or missing” following the Trump administration’s directive, which took effect on July 15 to the dismay of experts and local officials who previously relied on the CDC system to track the coronavirus and allocate resources. Continue reading

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‘Alarming’: Trump Blocks CDC Officials From Testifying to Education Panel on School Reopenings

“It’s imperative that we listen to the experts… the president is barring them from the room.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-18-2020

Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Photo: White House/flickr

The Democratic chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee revealed Friday that the Trump administration is blocking Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials—including agency director Dr. Robert Redfield—from testifying at a congressional hearing next week on school reopenings as the White House continues its efforts to force the resumption of in-person classes in the fall.

“It is alarming that the Trump administration is preventing the CDC from appearing before the committee at a time when its expertise and guidance is so critical to the health and safety of students, parents, and educators,” Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said in a statement. “This lack of transparency does a great disservice to the many communities across the country facing difficult decisions about reopening schools this fall.” Continue reading

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Deregulation’s Deadly Consequences: Report Details How Trump’s Assault on Government Exacerbated Pandemic

“These rollbacks have put all of us—especially low-income communities, Black people and people of color, and essential workers—at higher risk of contracting and dying from Covid-19.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-14-2020

Photo: World News/Twitter

President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to roll back regulations designed to protect the environment, workers, and public health likely played a significant role in the spread of Covid-19 in the United States.

That’s according to a new report released Tuesday by New York University School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity (IPI), a nonpartisan policy think tank. Continue reading

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Trump Accused of Suppressing CDC Warning That Full School Reopenings Pose ‘Highest Risk’ of Covid-19 Spread

“By trying to bury what the CDC recommends, Trump is betraying every student, teacher, and parent in this country. Shame on him. Shame on those who enable him.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 7-13-2020

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, takes questions from reporters during a Coronavirus Task Force update Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020,. Photo/White House/flickr/CC

The leader of one of the largest teachers’ unions in the U.S. accused President Donald Trump over the weekend of “trying to bury” federal guidelines warning that fully reopening schools and universities in the fall poses a high risk of spreading Covid-19 and endangering the health of students, faculty, and parents.

A 69-page packet (pdf) of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention materials obtained by the New York Times and labeled “For Internal Use Only” cautions that the “more people a student or staff member interacts with, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of Covid-19 spread.” Continue reading

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American Weapons Manufacturers Are Thriving Even as the US Economy Suffers

Washington has made it a priority to radically overhaul the military in double time, designating weapons manufacturers as “essential” services during the pandemic.

By Alan Macleod.  Published 5-13-2020 by MintPress News

Photo: U.S. Air Force/Brad Fallin)

The economy has crashed. A nationwide pandemic that has (officially) claimed some 84,000 Americans has also resulted in an estimated 36 million filing for unemployment insurance and millions frequenting food banks for the first time. Yet business is booming for one unlikely industry; weapons manufacturers are busier than ever and are even advertising for tens of thousands of more workers.

Northrop Grumman announced that it was planning to hire up to 10,000 more employees this year. Airlines are being hit particularly hard, as the number of people flying on commercial planes has cratered. Raytheon, who supplies parts to civilian aircraft manufacturers, has lost a great deal of business. Yet it is still advertising 2,000 new jobs in the military wing of its business. Boeing, who endured a torrid 2019, with multiple high-profile crashes of its 737 MAX-8 airliner, is preparing to lay off ten percent of its staff as airlines predict a long and sustained drop in air travel. Nevertheless, it is looking to add hundreds of new workers in its defense, intelligence, and cybersecurity departments. Continue reading

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US Blocks UN Global Ceasefire Resolution, Objecting to Indirect Reference to World Health Organization

“It’s bad enough that Trump is responsible for so many deaths in his own country, now he is actively complicit in causing even more across the globe.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-9-2020

The U.S. blocked a U.N. global ceasefire resolution amid the global pandemic on Friday, objecting to language that even indirectly praised the World Health Organization. (Photo: via EuroYankee)

International diplomats were stunned and frustrated Friday night after the U.S. again blocked a United Nations resolution to call for a global ceasefire during the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. objected to any mention of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the resolution. President Donald Trump has claimed WHO withheld information from world governments about the coronavirus, and that the global health agency was privy to information about the virus originating in a lab in China. Continue reading

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Growing Number of COVID-19 Cases in Wisconsin Fuels National Demands for Vote-by-Mail

“Congress is running out of time to ensure that the chaos that happened in Wisconsin doesn’t unfold on a national scale come November.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-27-2020

Photo: Don Moynihan/flickr

The increasing number of COVID-19 cases among people who voted in-person for Wisconsin’s April 7 election is fueling demands for Congress to help fund the implementation of expanded vote-by-mail provisions in every state for the rest of this year, particularly for the nation’s general election scheduled for November.

“So far, 36 people who tested COVID-19 positive after April 9 have reported that they voted in person or worked the polls on election day,” Jennifer Miller, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, told Politico Monday As the outlet reported: Continue reading

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The Covid-19 Timeline Trump Does Not Want You To See

In order to understand how the COVID-19 virus has spread so far across the American landscape, one must study the timeline. In science, this is called looking at the model. We’ve heard a lot about looking at models – but this is the one you are not supposed to notice.

You are not supposed to see a clear pattern of first denial, then feigned victory. You are not supposed to see the total lack of leadership, the inability to use resources to solve problems, even lacking the ability to admit the destruction this virus could cause was grossly underestimated.

So here we are, America. Our health care system is failing with health care professionals becoming sick because they are unable to get the personal protective equipment they need that is mandated. Our food supply is at risk as workers are either afraid or too sick to plant, harvest or process our food. Small businesses in rural communities will never reopen, further damaging the farmer and small towns across rural America. And come November, we are supposed to believe “he” alone has saved us from a fate worse than death – not allowing him to have things his way. What makes you sickest? This “model” or COVID-19?

Dec 18th – House Impeaches Trump

Jan 8th – First CDC warning

Jan 9th – Trump campaign rally

Jan 14th – Trump campaign rally

Jan 16h – House sends impeachment articles to Senate

Jan 18th – Trump golfs Jan 19th – Trump golfs

Jan 20th – first case of corona virus in the US, Washington State.

Jan 22nd – “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”

Jan 24th – Trump’s economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion.

Jan 28th – Trump campaign rally

Jan 30th – Trump campaign rally

Feb 1st – Trump golfs

Feb 2nd – “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”

Feb 5th – Senate votes to acquit. Then takes a five-day weekend.

Feb. 10th – Trump’s new budget plan is released, including $844 billion in cuts to health care and related research over a decade

Feb 10th – Trump campaign rally

Feb 12th – Dow Jones closes at an all time high of 29,551.42

Feb 15th – Trump golfs

Feb 19th – Trump campaign rally

Feb 20th – Trump campaign rally

Feb 21st – Trump campaign rally

Feb 24th – “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

Feb 25th – “CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus.”

Feb 25th – “I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.”

Feb 26th – “The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”

Feb 26th – “We’re going very substantially down, not up.” Also “This is a flu. This is like a flu”; “Now, you treat this like a flu”; “It’s a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”

February 27th: – “One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”

Feb 28th – “We’re ordering a lot of supplies. We’re ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn’t be ordering unless it was something like this. But we’re ordering a lot of different elements of medical.”

Feb 28th – Trump campaign rally

March 2nd – “You take a solid flu vaccine, you don’t think that could have an impact, or much of an impact, on corona?”

March 2nd – “A lot of things are happening, a lot of very exciting things are happening and they’re happening very rapidly.”

March 4th –  “If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work — some of them go to work, but they get better.”

March 5th – “I NEVER said people that are feeling sick should go to work.”

March 5th – “The United States… has, as of now, only 129 cases… and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep these numbers as low as possible!”

March 6th – “I think we’re doing a really good job in this country at keeping it down… a tremendous job at keeping it down.”

March 6th – “Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They’re there. And the tests are beautiful…. the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This was not as perfect as that but pretty good.”

March 6th – “I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

March 6th – “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.”

March 7th – Trump golfs

March 8th – Trump golfs

March 8th – “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus.”

March 9th – “This blindsided the world.”

March 13th – [Declared state of emergency]

March 17th – “This is a pandemic,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

March 18th – “It’s not racist at all. No. Not at all. It comes from China. That’s why. It comes from China. I want to be accurate.”

Mar 19th – “We’re not a shipping clerk.” Trump tells governors to step up their efforts to get medical supplies from the open market, while FEMA begins seizing the orders states place.

March 23th- Dow Jones closes at 18,591.93

March 25th – 3.3 million Americans file for unemployment.

March 30th – Dow Jones closes at 21,917.16

March 31st – Frank Gabrin becomes the first ER doctor in the US to die from COVID-19

April 1st – Over 4,000+ Americans have died from the corona virus.

April 2nd – 6.6 million Americans file for unemployment.

April 3rd – Secret Service signs “emergency order” for golf carts at Trump’s Virginia Golf Club location

April 6th – The Trump administration quietly invoked the Defense Production Act to force medical suppliers in Texas and Colorado to sell to it first — ahead of states, hospitals or foreign countries.

April 8th – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, citing a need to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily halts some efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments made to Medicare Advantage health plans.

April 9th – Another 6.6 million file for unemployment.

April 13th – White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing devolves into disinformation and defense of Trump’s actions.

April 13th – USA leads the world while testing less than 1% of the population. At press time, the US have tested only 2,935,006 people. Of those, 582,607 are diagnosed with COVID-19. 23,628 Americans are dead. Only 44,261 have recovered.

April 13th – Capt. Brett Crozier is in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. Over 580 of the USS Theodore Roosevelt’s crew of 4,800 tested positive as of Sunday, according to the Navy. Nearly 4,000 of the crew members have since evacuated the ship into Guam, where many of them are under quarantine in hotels. Today, one of the sailors died.

Editor’s Note: In order to best understand the fray between reality and Trump’s view, please read this and this.

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