The American people have questions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) doesn't have answers... yet again. But this time, there seems to be more to the story.
A bombshell New York Times article reports the CDC failed to disclose significant information in recently published data detailing the efficacy of the Covid booster shot in adults younger than 65. The agency "left out numbers for a huge portion of the population," says the Times, and those particular numbers revealed that 18- to 49-year-olds are "least likely to benefit from extra shots because the first two doses already left them well-protected." This revelation comes just months after CDC Director Rochelle Walensky strongly recommended all adults 18 years and older receive the booster, endorsing the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) suggestions. From the New York Times:
For more than a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collected data on hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the United States and broken it down by age, race and vaccination status. But it has not made most of the information public.
So why, after two years into the pandemic and a relentless pursuit of knowledge on any and everything having to do with Covid, is the CDC withholding crucial details? The public deserves to know. Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the CDC, attempted to shed light on the matter by claiming the agency has neglected to divulge all the data due to fear of misinterpretation and “because basically, at the end of the day, it’s not yet ready for prime time." Sadly, this omitted information is exactly what could be of assistance to state and local health officials who are fighting the virus on the frontlines. More importantly, this omitted information is exactly what could save lives.
Since the start of the pandemic, states and localities have attempted to work in tandem with
the CDC by sharing wastewater surveillance data, which helps spot outbreaks and variants, but the agency "had never before released those findings," says the Times. Due to the CDC's blatant lack of transparency, even federal health agencies are being forced to rely on numbers from entirely different countries to make decisions for Americans. From the New York Times:
Two full years into the pandemic, the agency leading the country’s response to the public health emergency has published only a tiny fraction of the data it has collected, several people familiar with the data said.
While the CDC continues to leave the American people bewildered as they spew contradiction after contradiction, this should leave the American people demanding the whole truth like never before.