"Centralizing control of all data under the umbrella of an inherently political apparatus is dangerous and breeds distrust.".
The administration's new directive came in the form of a document (pdf) quietly posted online last week by HHS, an agency headed by former pharmaceutical executive and Trump appointee Alex Azar.
"It appears to cut off the ability of agencies like CDC to do its basic job," said Lurie.
Trump has been insistently announcing for weeks he wants to cover up the scale of the epidemic by slowing down testing.
"Speechless—Trump White House is now muzzling, bypassing, and kneecapping the CDC," tweeted epidemiologist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding.
"The CDC is supposed to analyze the data coming from different regions of the country," said Wen.
In a column for Esquire Tuesday, Charles Pierce urged hospitals to ignore the Trump administration's directive and "send the data to the CDC anyway.". »