Many U.S. patients have recovered from coronavirus, but so far, the CDC has shared detailed clinical information about only one of those patients. That information includes what treatments the patients received and how they fared. Failing to share that critical information puts other patients at risk of further harm (or even death).
The CDC is the federal agency that communicates with physicians about how to handle outbreaks-- advising doctors on how to diagnose, evaluate and treat diseases. The CDC possesses such information about many of the already recovered coronavirus patients, but has not released it. That means doctors who now unexpectedly find themselves treating new coronavirus patients aren't able to benefit from the findings of doctors who preceded them.
"It's a medical truism that it's absolutely essential that physicians with experience with a particular condition disseminate information to others," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. Not sharing such information is "is inexplicable and inappropriate," Redlener added.
Infectious disease doctors say they can't understand why the information hasn't already been shared, considering that many of these patients recovered weeks ago.
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