Robert Redfield

18 Stories

Few Agree With Redfield on Virus Origin: 'That's Fine'

Ex-director of CDC acknowledges the lab theory isn't backed by evidence

(Newser) - A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has circled back to a widely rejected theory about the origins of the coronavirus. Dr. Robert Redfield said he believes the most likely explanation is that the pathogen escaped somehow from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, the New York ...

Doctor Warns Lawmakers of Possible Virus Exposure

House members were in a hearing room with an infected person during Capitol attack

(Newser) - Lawmakers who took refuge during the attack on the Capitol might have been in a room with a person infected with the coronavirus, Congress' attending physician warned Sunday. Some House members spent several hours in the committee hearing room, Dr. Brian Monahan wrote in an email to lawmakers. "During...

US Might Exceed 9/11 Deaths Daily for Next 3 Months

Impact of vaccinations will take awhile to materialize, says CDC director

(Newser) - The FDA is expected to issue emergency authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine as soon as Saturday, reports the New York Times . That means "we could see people getting vaccinated Monday, Tuesday," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Friday on Good Morning America . Some 2.9...

Dr. Fauci Broaches the Subject on Everyone's Mind
Dr. Fauci
Broaches the
Subject on
Everyone's Mind
in case you missed it

Dr. Fauci Broaches the Subject on Everyone's Mind

Thanksgiving, and what to do about it

(Newser) - With the holidays looming, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday weighed in on the topic probably dominating the thoughts of many in the US right now: Thanksgiving. "You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering, unless you're pretty certain that the people that you're...

Report: White House to Ignore CDC on Cruise Ships

Sources say no-sail order will be lifted Oct. 31

(Newser) - Cruise ships are going to start sailing again on the timeline favored by the cruise industry, not the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, insiders say. Sources tell Axios and the New York Times that CDC chief Dr. Robert Redfield was overruled at a coronavirus task force meeting this week...

Report: Birx, Others Pressured CDC on Sending Kids to School

Ex-aide to Mike Pence: 'You're exchanging votes for lives'

(Newser) - Top White House officials, including the coordinator of the coronavirus task force, pressured leaders at the CDC to downplay the risks of sending children back to school in the midst of a pandemic, the New York Times is reporting. The report cites current and former government officials, including a former...

CDC Chief Makes Call on Plane, Reporter Overhears It

'Everything he says is false,' Robert Redfield said of Trump's new COVID-19 adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas

(Newser) - The director of the CDC flew from Atlanta to DC Friday, and a phone call he made while on the plane is now making headlines. Turns out an NBC News reporter was on the same flight as Robert Redfield and overheard him apparently blasting President Trump's newest coronavirus task...

Trump: CDC Director 'Made a Mistake' on Vaccine Timing

Redfield said masks could be more effective protection than vaccine

(Newser) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testified at a Senate hearing Wednesday—and his remarks clashed with some of what President Trump has been saying. Face masks are "the most important public health tool we have" in fighting the pandemic and could even be more effective...

Trump Officials Are Altering CDC Reports on COVID-19

But the CDC is pushing back in fight over COVID-19 data

(Newser) - Another war of words has erupted in Washington—this one over the printed page, Politico reports. Insiders say the health department's political appointees are demanding the right to edit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly COVID-19 updates , but the CDC is pushing back, and the mood...

These Americans Will Get a Vaccine First
These Americans Will 
Get a Vaccine First
in case you missed it

These Americans Will Get a Vaccine First

In hypothetical plan, CDC lays out guidelines on distribution, to start as early as next month

(Newser) - Public health officials across the country have been told to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October—though the CDC says this is just a hypothetical. In documents sent to health authorities in all states and territories, as well as five major cities (New York, Chicago,...

CDC Revises the Revision on Testing Guidance

Redfield says people without symptoms can take a test if they want one, and if their provider agrees

(Newser) - The new guidance on coronavirus testing issued Monday by the CDC didn't last the week. After decreeing that people without symptoms don't need to be tested , the agency backtracked Thursday, the Hill reports. Dr. Robert Redfield said anyone who's been in contact with someone confirmed to have...

House Dems Slam 'Alarming' WH Response on CDC Chief Testimony

Robert Redfield reportedly blocked by White House from testifying next week on school reopenings

(Newser) - CDC Director Robert Redfield was apparently in the queue to speak before Congress at a public hearing next week on the reopening of schools during the pandemic, but reports now say he's been blocked by the White House from doing so. Politico and USA Today report that Redfield had...

CDC Chief: Here's How We 'Drive Epidemic to the Ground'

One word: masks

(Newser) - The CDC director says the US could get the coronavirus under control within weeks if we took just one step: mask up. "If we could get everybody to wear a mask right now, I think in four, six, eight weeks we could bring this epidemic under control," Robert...

Pandemic History Might Have Turned on This Moment

Reassuring messages on Feb. 29 replaced plan for shutdown

(Newser) - The first COVID-19 death in the US was reported on Feb. 29. There was a coronavirus briefing at the White House that day, and Rolling Stone has identified it as a critical moment when the US response could have gone in a different, lifesaving direction—the instant when the tennis...

Fauci, Top COVID Officials Exposed to Virus

He begins 'modified quarantine' as CDC, FDA chiefs self-quarantine after exposure

(Newser) - Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the chief faces of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, is now among three top White House coronavirus officials who have been exposed to the virus, though CNN describes his contact with a White House staffer who tested positive as "low...

CDC Director Might Be Regretting That Interview
CDC Director Might Be
Regretting That Interview
the rundown

CDC Director Might Be Regretting That Interview

Robert Redfield is walking back his comments on second wave of coronavirus

(Newser) - On Tuesday, the Washington Post published an interview with Dr. Robert Redfield in which the CDC director seemed to indicate an inevitable second wave of coronavirus infections was likely to be worse than this initial wave. By Wednesday, Redfield was walking back those remarks. President Trump tweeted Wednesday that Redfield...

CDC Director: 2nd Wave of Coronavirus Likely to Be Worse

He warns that the next wave will likely hit during flu season

(Newser) - As states start to reopen or, at least, consider reopening , the director of the CDC has a warning: The coronavirus isn't going anywhere, and when the next wave hits the US, it could be worse than this one. "There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus...

'19, 20 States' Could Be Ready to Reopen May 1

So says CDC Director Robert Redfield

(Newser) - If you're living in one of 19 or 20 states, good news: CDC Director Robert Redfield thinks you may be ready to reopen by May 1. The less great news: He didn't name which ones during his interview on Good Morning America . Reuters reports Redfield explained that we'...

18 Stories