Conflicting Reports on Release of New CDC Guidelines

An Associated Press report published Thursday said the White House had benched new CDC coronavirus guidelines, suggesting the administration was furthering its perceived attempts to be the coronavirus information and guidance gatekeeper. Several White House officials pushed back on the AP report, saying the CDC had not yet cleared the guidelines for public release and that editing was still ongoing. Left-rated outlets generally focused more on the notion that the Trump administration suppressed the guidelines to assert more control over the flow of coronavirus instruction; right-rated outlets focused more on the fact that states can still access the guidelines if they contact the CDC. Some in the center focused on reports that White House officials refused to sign off on the guidelines because they purportedly obstructed religious freedom.