In his new book, former NYC Health Department surveillance director Don Weiss criticizes the city's reliance on CDC testing guidelines, which he claims delayed the identification of COVID-19 cases. The strict criteria, which limited testing to patients exhibiting severe symptoms or known exposure, meant many with only mild symptoms remained undetected. Weiss argues this approach resulted in substantial community transmission, ultimately contributing to avoidable deaths. He advocates for broader testing protocols that could have helped mitigate the outbreak's impact on vulnerable populations.
We needed to go off the CDC script. Testing limits were restrictive, and many with mild COVID-19 symptoms weren't identified, fueling further community spread.
I worried that we'd miss the opportunity to prevent an onslaught. Following the CDC's strict criteria for testing meant we were missing cases.
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