White House overruled health officials who had urgent coronavirus warning for America’s seniors: report

The Associated Press issued a bombshell report on Saturday evening that the White House overruled medical experts who had sought to issue a warning to America's seniors.

"The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan this week as a way of trying to control the virus, but White House officials ordered the air travel recommendation be removed, said the official who had direct knowledge of the plan," the AP reported.

"On Friday, the CDC quietly updated its website to tell older adults and people with severe medical conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease to 'stay home as much as possible' and avoid crowds. It urges those people to 'take actions to reduce your risk of exposure,' but it doesn’t specifically address flying," the AP noted. "Some experts this week said clearer and louder guidance should be made to vulnerable people, so they take every possible step to avoid settings where they might more easily become infected."