For the third time in less than a week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is having second thoughts about a prior recommendation. On its website, the CDC is now promoting butt bumps to replace the awkward elbow bump the agency promoted early on in the pandemic. The elbow bumps were instituted after the more commonly used fistbump was deemed too risky and a possible virus spreader.
“This is deeply concerning,” said ex-FDA chief Scott Gottlieb, appearing on CNBC’s “Claptrap.” “The CDC is at risk of losing whatever tiny bit of credibility they have left.”
The new guidelines come just days after the agency posted and then retracted erroneous information regarding airborne particles, and less than a week after it reversed course on controversial testing recommendations.
“Elbow bumps, fist bumps, to bump or not to bump…just tell me what to bump and I’ll bump it,” said an exasperated Gottlieb.
The new guidelines first appeared on the CDC website Thursday along with specific instructions for performing the butt bump.
“The participants shall face in opposite directions as they allow their hips to slide laterally and collide with one another,” read the agency’s instructions.
Health experts speculate that the advantage of the butt bump comes from the participants never having to face one another, thereby eliminating almost entirely any possibility of particle transmission.
A promotional video showing participants butt bumping to “The Hustle” by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony is also available for viewing on the CDC website.
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