The U.S. Surgeon General says a long-awaited federal study of skin rashes in Flint should be released “very soon”.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was in Flint today meeting with local doctors and government officials.
He says they discussed many issues related to Flint’s lead-tainted tap water.
But one issue that remains a major source of controversy and pain is skin rashes.
People in Flint have been complaining about itchy skin rashes for several years.
Many blame the city’s switch to the Flint River back in 2014. Even since the city switched back to Detroit’s water system, many Flint residents say they continue to experience painful, itchy rashes on their skin.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control have spent months analyzing the problem.
With their work almost complete, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is promising to make the results clear.
“It’s not just going to be a simple one-page press release that’s put out there,” says Murthy. “We really want to make sure the community understands what’s in this report.”
Murthy says, after the report is released, the federal government will meet with local doctors and residents to discuss the results. He adds that a CDC team member will be “on the ground” in Flint for two weeks after the report is released to answer questions.
While he insists the report will be released “very soon”, Dr. Murthy declined to give a specific release date.
