Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar diverged from White House economic adviser Peter Navarro’s view on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaking out in defense of the agency.
During a Monday interview on Fox News, anchor Sandra Smith asked Azar about Navarro’s claim over the weekend that the CDC “let the country down” with its initial response to problems with coronavirus testing.
“The comments regarding CDC are inaccurate and inappropriate,” Azar said of the attack. “The CDC had one error, which was in scaling up the manufacturing of the tests that they had developed. There was a contamination that didn’t affect the accuracy of the tests, just led to inconclusive results. They fixed that within weeks and got it out.”
He then emphasized the need for the private sector to collaborate with the federal government on testing kits for COVID-19.
“What we need is the private sector to develop the tests. The Abbotts, the Roches, the Thermo Fishers, get them in the market,” he said.
On Sunday’s airing of NBC’s Meet The Press, host Chuck Todd asked Navarro if President Trump had faith in the CDC to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Navarro resisted speaking for Trump but blamed the CDC for early shortcomings in regard to coronavirus testing.
“Early on in this virus, the CDC, which really had the most trusted brand around the world in this space, really let the country down with the testing because not only did they keep the testing within the bureaucracy, they had a bad test. And that did set us back,” Navarro said.
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Azar was pressed on the remark during another Sunday morning show and told CBS’s Face the Nation, “I don’t believe the CDC let this country down. I believe the CDC serves an important public health role. What was always critical was to get the private sector to the table.”
A senior CDC official also rebuked Navarro’s comments.
“We should remind Mr. Navarro that the CDC is a federal agency part of the administration. The CDC director is an appointed position, and Dr. [Robert] Redfield was appointed by President [Donald] Trump,” the unidentified official told CNN. “If there is criticism of the CDC, ultimately Mr. Navarro is being critical of the president and the man who President Trump placed to lead the agency.”
