The physicians of the American College of Preventive Medicine rely on the weekly data and reports provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). For the nearly 60 years that CDC has housed MMWR, it has been a trusted and reliable source for routine surveillance data plus timely reports on current public health issues that are critical for both patient care and public health response. This weekly bulletin-style report is designed for the public health and medical communities, is purposefully data-heavy, and provides only fact-based conclusions and recommendations.
Reliance upon a weekly bulletin such as MMWR for data that enable a successful public health and medical response requires that it provide all the reported evidence in a timely manner, and that those data are unsullied by political interference. Trust in what is being presented as an accurate picture of the current situation has been a hallmark of MMWR’s entire existence. MMWR’s independence from the political process has made it one of the most trusted medical and public health journals.
It now appears that the integrity of MMWR is being violated to support political interests. This is cause for alarm, especially in the midst of the as-yet uncontrolled COVID-19 pandemic. ACPM calls on the elected and political officials of the Trump Administration to immediately stop efforts to undermine the professional and public trust in CDC and MMWR and let the CDC scientists and professionals do their job unimpeded by politics.
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Reliance upon a weekly bulletin such as MMWR for data that enable a successful public health and medical response requires that it provide all the reported evidence in a timely manner, and that those data are unsullied by political interference. Trust in what is being presented as an accurate picture of the current situation has been a hallmark of MMWR’s entire existence. MMWR’s independence from the political process has made it one of the most trusted medical and public health journals.
It now appears that the integrity of MMWR is being violated to support political interests. This is cause for alarm, especially in the midst of the as-yet uncontrolled COVID-19 pandemic. ACPM calls on the elected and political officials of the Trump Administration to immediately stop efforts to undermine the professional and public trust in CDC and MMWR and let the CDC scientists and professionals do their job unimpeded by politics.