I’m sure you’ve seen the reports which allege interference of the CDC’s MMWR. Let me tell you why these allegations (true or false) are something to watch. The point of this post is not to be political. It’s to describe how weird this whole thing has become from a science standpoint. Buckle up people and get some good ice cream (the FNE household likes Blue Bell Cookie Two Step)- this is a longish post.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐? The MMWR, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is the flagship scientific publication (beginning in 1878!) and is often considered the “holy grail” of science. The publication is typically dense and boring to non-scientists. Until this year, it’s probably only been read by sciency people (those of us with science/MD/health degrees and those that just love science).
In short, the MMWR has been around for decades and is one of the most trusted pieces of non-political, unbiased, and unobstructed science we have. The MMWR is also meant to be an “alert” system for the US regarding new outbreaks, food borne illnesses, or treatment breakthroughs (like for HIV).
๐๐จ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค? The allegations include changes to studies and evidence. These are allegations – so I’m not saying one way or the other. I’m just saying to watch this story closely. As a person with trusted colleagues who work at the CDC or who have spent their career at the CDC, these allegations are concerning. Because they point to changing the science to match non-reality in one of the most trusted pieces of data in history. (That last statement is not overstating – the MMWR really has been and is that big of a deal to us in science for decades.)
๐’๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ช๐ฎ๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฑ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐: These are from two very senior, career scientists in the field with no political leanings in their careers.
โIf youโve ever been involved as a co-author of one of those reports, itโs painful how carefully every sentence is reviewed for scientific rigor, for precision,โ Dr. William Schaffner, part of the editorial board, said.
“It is not unusual for communication people within the CDC to be involved in an MMWR report before publication, said Dr. Patrick Remington, a member of the journalโs editorial board and a former CDC staffer. โWhat is unusual is the allegation that the political process is attempting to influence the scientific conclusions. And thatโs a concern.โ
I’m sure we will know more about this in the coming days and I’ll update as more information becomes available (one way or the other).
๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง, ๐’๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. In 1981, physicians and scientists started noticing a pattern of a new illness (this is the picture I shared). They published this in the MMWR as an “alert” mechanism for others to watch out for. That disease turned out to be HIV and the importance of notifying the public early and openly cannot be understated. These MMWR alerts also prompted a massive public health response to the newly identified virus, including surveillance, testing, treatment, and educational efforts.
I know some are about to say, “But I don’t trust the CDC because of XYZ.” I hear you and understand the confusion of all of this in the age of social media and 24/7 news. But, trust those of us who have doing this for a long time prior to the pandemic – and who have nothing to gain from a political standpoint. And way before most people knew what MMWR stood for. Now back to that ice cream…
-Friendly neighbor epidemiologist (who is a bit hesitant to share this post…) 3, 2, 1…
Quote source: https://www.usatoday.com/โฆ/covid-scientists-whiโฆ/5787230002/
Allegation source (I know the title of the report is very political and so is the site. I’m sorry about that. I did try to find a rebuttal to this but couldn’t find one.): https://www.politico.com/โฆ/exclusive-trump-officials-interfโฆ
***This post will likely get lots of discussion, as it should. I’m all for discussions that are fact-based or respectful to the “other side”. We can share different opinions that we feel deeply about – let’s just do it like we would with our friends over a cup of coffee or bowl of ice cream. Conspiracy theory websites or links will be deleted.***
***A note to my students, if you post and get rude responses or responses that are clearly not a true discussion (ones that bait you into a fight that noone will win) – Don’t respond back. Your energy and value is worth so much more. Thick skin, soft heart. Wisdom.***
