Public health groups denounce new Trump move sidelining CDC

A new Trump administration policy that bypasses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for control of key coronavirus information is provoking outrage among public health experts.

Under the policy, quietly announced late last week, hospitals are now required to report directly to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the number of COVID-19 patients each facility is treating, available beds and ventilators, and other data.

The CDC had been collecting that information from the start of the pandemic on its National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), which...