Trump admin surgeon general slams latest CDC COVID guidance

Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned against following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest guidance allowing COVID-19 positive patients to leave isolation after five days. 

"I love the CDC. Grew up wanting to work there and have been one of their most ardent defenders," Adams tweeted Tuesday. "I never dreamed the day would come when I would advise people NOT to follow their guidance. Breaks my [heart.] But ask any of them. They wouldn’t even follow it for their own family."

His comments came in response to a video of a positive COVID test from engineer Gayle McDowell. "4-5 days post start of symptoms. Look how fast this line appears. CDC says shouldn’t be contagious now?" McDowell wrote.

The Trump administration surgeon general replied: "Regardless of what CDC says, you really should try to obtain an antigen test (I know- easier said than done) and confirm it’s negative prior to leaving isolation and quarantine. There’s not a scientist or doctor I’ve met yet who wouldn’t do this for themselves/ their family."

Doubling down, Adams retweeted a blank picture from author Eric Topol with the caption, "The data that supports the new @CDCgov 5 day isolation period without a negative test."

The CDC guidance does not say that a person must obtain a negative COVID test before leaving isolation, only that they must be five days post-positive test if they have "no symptoms" or "symptoms are resolving."

"CDC guidance doesn’t say only asymptomatic people can leave isolation- it says people with improving symptoms can leave isolation. Cough? Sore throat? Runny nose? As long it’s improving!" Adams wrote, adding, "Just one reason this new guidance is set up to fail."

"Remember all the docs on Twitter posting pictures of their rapid tests prior to holiday gatherings? They won’t let an asymptomatic family member in their house w/o a neg test, but your supposed to let a mildly symptomatic TSA officer pat down your grandma w/o one?" Adams rhetorically asked. 

Adams attacked the Biden administration further, writing, "If it’s to keep the economy open, own it. But don’t claim science based, yet ignore the most important science (ie value of negative tests + high quality masks)." N95, N99 and N100 masks are considered to be high-quality, and cloth masks are less effective.

White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted that the updated guidance was to get people back to work. 

“The reason is that with the sheer volume of new cases that we are having and that we expect to continue with omicron, one of the things we want to be careful of is we don’t have so many people out,” Fauci said on CNN, according to The Hill. “If you are asymptotic and you are infected, we want to get people back to the jobs, especially those with essential jobs."

President Joe Biden is leading America as the nation braces to enter the pandemic's third year, yet infections hit a record high Tuesday. The newest COVID variant omicron is quickly spreading and is accounting for the majority of new infections.