Many public-health authorities and infectious-disease experts criticized the August change, citing the necessity of testing close contacts to help stop transmission chains and concerns that the revision hadn’t come from experts within the agency. The directive was taken without the endorsement of the CDC, according to two people familiar with the decision-making process. The New York Times reported Thursday that the guidance wasn’t written by CDC scientists. The Sept. 18 updated recommendation now says that close contacts of a person with a confirmed Covid-19 infection need a test even in the absence of symptoms. The changes were described as a clarification, rather than a revision, on the CDC website.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 18, 2020 18:16 UTC