The CDC has always been an apolitical island. That's left it defenseless against Trump

(MIKE REDDY FOR STAT)

President Trump has openly sparred with federal agencies playing a role in the country's Covid-19 response, and the CDC, given its historically apolitical role, has been more vulnerable to criticism and pushback than the other agencies. Most of the CDC is in Atlanta, and its small D.C. staff — which is currently without a leader — has always meant that the agency has had less political capital than other federal health agencies with a larger presence in Washington. “The problem that [the CDC] often have is that they tend to ignore the politics,” said public health expert David Rosner tells STAT's Nicholas Florko. Read more here.

Here's what else is new with the pandemic:

Florida recorded around 15,300 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the highest daily case count for any state in the U.S. thus far. The strain of these recent cases in that state and in Texas has led to a shortage of remdesivir, the Gilead drug that has shown benefit for Covid-19 patients in clinical trials. Even though the federal government has been distributing vials of the drug based on hospital data, physicians are worried that using retrospective data to determine supply fails to account for possible future surges.
New CDC data reveal that Black and Hispanic individuals under the age of 65 are dying of Covid-19 at greater numbers than those from other racial groups. More than a third of Hispanic Americans who died from the novel virus were under the age of 65, compared to 30% of Black individuals and 13% of white people in that age group.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, along with the three education associations, walked back its statement urging schools to reopen in the fall with the aim of having students be physically present. In a new statement, the agencies said that although being in school is still beneficial for children, "Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools," and that, "Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics."
A new report from a United Nations panel estimates that 20% of mothers and children around the world are losing health and social services as a result of the pandemic. The report also estimates 13.5 million children missed vaccinations due to the pandemic, an additional 24,400 maternal deaths as well as nearly 170,000 newborn deaths.