Last night Rachel Maddow did an exclusive report on the CDC doctoring its own report on techniques to be used by the Smithfield meatpacking plant in South Dakota where 1,300 infections had occurred.
Maddow reported on a Centers for Disease Control investigation of the massive coronavirus outbreak at a Smithfields Foods meatpacking factory in South Dakota. Over 1,300 workers contracted COVID-19.
The CDC sent an “Epidemiologic Assistance” team, also as Epi-Aids.
Maddow had previously reported that the Epi-Aids report issued on April 22 did not sound like previous reports the CDC has issued.
On Tuesday, she reported that there actually was a real report given to South Dakota on April 21st. And that CDC Director Robert Redfield’s office made the scientists issue a secondary report the next day, after meeting with Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue.
The second report, issued on April 22nd, watered down the advice given by CDC to the meatpacking plant where all “power language” was removed to be adjusted an replaced with “suggestions and if possible” language for the guidance being provided by CDC to avoid continued infections.
The original report, obtained by the Rachel Maddow Show, had stronger language where CDC told the meatpacking plant to take specific actions to prevent the further spread of the disease. The new version of the report made everything optional and gave the company an option to ignore the advice if they chose to do so leaving their workers and their lives at risk.
After a visit by Argriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue the office of Director Redfield ordered the Epi-Ads team to redo their report and change the language, changing and diluting it in a manner that the CDC had never engaged in before.