Trust in CDC Is Low, Agency Has Been Politicized: Rep. Larry Bucshon

Heart Surgeon Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) interview with NTD Capitol Report, March 29, 2022

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), heart surgeon and member of the GOP Doctor Caucus, said the public has lost trust in United States’ premier health agency for its handling of the pandemic and that people see the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now as a political tool.

“I think the confidence that people now have in the CDC, for example, is low, I can tell you the people that I represent in southwest Indiana just don’t trust the information coming out of the CDC,” Bucshon told the host of NTD Capitol Report, Steve Lance, during a recent interview. “And I think people recognize that it’s been politicized, and so they don’t trust it.”

“Let me just give you a quick example. You know, right before the State of the Union, they come out, and they change the mask situation so that the president can go on TV, and everybody can be in the House chamber without masks on, including the Speaker.”

Bucshon said recent studies are showing that CDC-recommended lockdowns had an insignificant impact on the spread of the virus during the pandemic.

The congressman cited a January study (pdf) by Johns Hopkins University that showed that the lockdowns have had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortality, reducing mortality by 0.2 percent on average.

The doctor also said that people are starting to question the recommendations coming from President Joe Biden’s CDC and that is why airline executives sent a letter to the administration to tell them to end mask mandates on airplanes.

This month, advocacy group Airlines for America issued Biden a letter demanding the end of mask mandates for transportation, and other COVID-19 requirements, such as pre-departure testing for international flights.

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The letter from the group’s board of directors was signed by the leaders of 10 major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines Holdings, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines.

“It makes no sense when you have basketball stadiums full of people and other large events full of people without masks and still have people masked on planes because planes have an air circulating system. And actually, the air on the planes is probably cleaner than you'd find in a basketball arena.”

While Many State and local governments have lifted mask mandates, the CDC hasn’t changed its guidance on masks in school. It’s still recommending universal indoor masking by all students (ages 2 years and older) and school employees, regardless of vaccination status.

In addition, Bucshon said the CDC needs to broaden its focus on pandemic mitigation to include those who have natural immunity and also have a buffer from becoming severely ill from COVID.

“As a physician, you know, we need to be looking at hospitalizations and deaths, not cases. Most people that are getting cases now are getting a mild form of the disease. Most people have been vaccinated or have had COVID. So, we should start talking about levels of immunity, not just levels of vaccination,” said Bucshon. “We’ve been pressing [the CDC] to recognize natural immunity.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the CDC for comment.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.