CNN Medical Analyst: CDC Isolation Guidelines Will Make Potentially Infected People Avoid Covid Tests

CNN medical advisor Leana Wen said Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging Covid testing hesitancy with its current isolation guidelines.

The CDC last week recommended a shortened isolation period for people who test positive for Covid. The agency immediately took heat when it said that people who test positive should isolate for five days instead of 10.

Many critics wanted, at a minimum, a recommendation for testing for those who complete the five day isolation period.

Tuesday, the agency did not recommend a negative test for people who have been in isolation for five days. But the CDC did say if people who test at the end of the five days are still positive, they should isolate for five additional days.

Meanwhile, the CDC advised that if the test is negative, those coming out of isolation are asked to wear a mask around others and to avoid places such as gyms and restaurants for five extra days.

Wen joined The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer where she shared her thoughts on the guidelines and also reacted to an interview snippet between CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky from last week.

After Walensky was asked during that interview if a shortage in tests played a role in the latest CDC recommendations, she told Collins, “No, this decision really, from the isolation standpoint, had everything to do with the fact that we wouldn’t change our guidance based on the result of that rapid test.”

After airing the clip from the viral interview, Blitzer asked Wen if she believes the CDC’s clarification will help avoid any confusion over the issue of isolating and testing.

“I do not think that the clarification helped all. I actually think it made things worse,” said Wen. “Especially because the CDC is not adding a testing requirement, which I think a lot of public health experts were urging them to.”

Wen then criticized the CDC for not admitting that there is a scarcity of tests.

She then opined that the current guidelines will actually encourage people who are potentially still contagious to decline a test so they can avoid any further isolation.

“So essentially, they are making it a disincentive to get tested,” Wen said. “Who is going to want to get tested so that they can stay in isolation for longer?”

Watch above, via CNN.