When COVID testing was scarce, CDC director called in favor to help Nevada GOP leader

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/09/18/cdc-director-ordered-scarce-covid-test-nevada-gop-leader-march/3490999001/

Dr. Robert Redfield called Nevada’s chief medical officer on a Saturday night in early March with an extraordinary request.

Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general of Nevada until 2019 and booster for President Donald Trump, believed he was exposed to the coronavirus while attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. But Laxalt was not showing symptoms and could not get approved for a test through a local hospital back home.

On the phone call, Redfield asked the medical officer, Dr. Ihsan Azzam, to get it done, according to interviews and internal communications USA TODAY received through records requests.

Azzam, who had never met or spoken with Redfield before, was stunned. At the time, testing capacity around the country was scarce and people without symptoms often were not a priority.

“It wasn’t the protocol,” Azzam told USA TODAY in an interview. “This is a VIP person. We got a call from the CDC director who is advising that we test him for COVID-19.”

The next morning, Azzam contacted the county health department in Reno and fast-tracked Laxalt’s test. Redfield called back hours later to thank him, Azzam said.

*snip*

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Who says the Connected never get favors.

Laxalt is a real POS ,hundreds here could not get a test at the same time. If it had not been a Collaborative effort by our Governor,and Both Senators as well as our three Dem Congress People,we would have not received any test kits. The first round of Kits were junk and incomplete.

[SharonClark]

2. Redfield is a trump sycophant and right wing

Christian. I’ll never forget the Covid presser where he was introduced by trump. Trump started with one of his nasty remarks and Redfield looked at trump with a big grin and seemed pleased as punch.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. K&R