The US Health Authority, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently published new guidelines for asymptomatic patients on its official website.
According to the new guidelines, “If you have been in close contact (within 6 feet) of a person with a COVID-19 infection for at least 15 minutes but do not have symptoms, you do not necessarily need a test unless you are a vulnerable individual or your health care provider or state or local public health officials recommend you take one.”
Previously, CDC has recommended every individual (symptomatic and asymptomatic) to get tested for coronavirus infection if that person had been in close contact with someone diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
US media has reported that changes in guidelines have emerged due to political reasons. US President Donald Trump has been criticising higher levels of testing for ruining the country’s image as one doing poorly against the pandemic. But experts believe that skepticism on testing is wrong and that the US, in fact, had the worst outbreak among other countries globally.
Senior health department official Brett Giroir said, “The new guidelines are a CDC action. As always, guidelines received appropriate attention, consultation and input from (coronavirus) Task Force experts.”
The CDC had previously reported that since 40-50 per cent of the people infected with coronavirus are asymptomatic and as they too are also responsible for the virus spread, they should also get tested to stop the pandemic from worsening further.
Leana Wen, a professor at George Washington University and former health commissioner of Baltimore, in response to the new guidelines commented on Twitter, “Still can’t make sense of @CDCgov change in guidance. An estimated 40-50% of people with #covid19 are asymptomatic. Those exposed to the virus need to know to protect their family members & the public. One has to wonder: is this change because we don’t have enough tests?”
Anthony Fauci, a senior official at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases too criticised the new notification by CDC.
He said, “I am concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact, it is”.