Baker Criticizes Trump Administration Decision To Shift Data Collection From CDC
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker is criticizing a decision by the Trump administration to shift the collection of hospital data related to the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to a private technology firm.
"It sets us up for a situation where it's going to be very hard to understand what truth actually is as we try to figure out what's going on in New England and what's going on in the South and what's going on in the West and even what's going on in the hospitals in our own state," Baker said during a Thursday press conference at the Massachusetts Statehouse.
Baker described the federal agency as the "source of truth" for data about the spread of the virus and said the country should continue to use the protocols, rules and definitions that have been established by the CDC to continue to monitor the virus.
"As this virus has continued to grow around the country, it's more important than ever that the CDC be able to produce what I would describe as a daily statement on truth with regard to hospitalizations, cases, ICU utilization and all the rest," the Republican said.
Baker said the shift will make it harder to monitor the progress of the virus not only around the country, but within Massachusetts.
President Donald Trump's administration has said the change will speed up reporting. CDC director Robert Redfield said Wednesday that he's fine with the change.
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