COVID-19 Pandemic Perspectives

The CDC (Shae Thompson)

Fact-Checked Source:
The CDC, "Coronavirus (COVID-19)"

Although the March 21st, 2020 version was originally cited, the CDC continues to update their official page of information, data and resources on COVID-19 as the situation develops. 

Analyzing Credibility: Five Facts Checked

Fact #1 located in "How to Protect Yourself and Others"
  • The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
    • Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
    • Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
    • These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.
    • Some recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.
The original source of this fact is the NNDSS (National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance Systems), which is regulated by the CDC. This information is correct and verifiable by the NNDSS, who keeps careful surveillance and provides data and statistics on diseases.

Fact #2 located in "What to Do If You Are Sick"
  • Stay home. Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care. Do not leave your home, except to get medical care. Do not visit public areas.
The source of this fact is NCIRD (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases), Division of Viral Diseases. This is factual and has been verified as a fact by the CDC.

Fact #3 located in "Symptoms of Coronavirus"

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Repeated shaking with chills
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • New loss of taste or smell
This fact originated from the NCIRD (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases), Division of Viral Diseases. The CDC has verified this information as a fact.

Fact #4 located in "What to Do If You Are Sick"

As much as possible, stay in a specific room and away from other people and pets in your home. Also, you should use a separate bathroom, if available. 

The original source of this fact is NCIRD (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases), Division of Viral Diseases. This information is legitimate and has also been verified as a fact by the CDC.

Fact #5 located in "Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19"

CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.

This fact is originally from NCIRD (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases), Division of Viral Diseases. This information is correct and responding to and preventing viral diseases is one of the main objectives of the Division of Viral Diseases.
 


Analytic Essay

What does the CDC See?: The CDC's Perspective on COVID-19

The perspective of the CDC is one that is valued and followed in society, especially during disease outbreaks and national pandemics. The CDC is a federal agency that is highly trusted to provide helpful and objective information to the usually less knowledgeable public.

Due to the recent outbreak, the CDC has been the source of information regarding COVID-19. The CDC is serving to educate the public by providing updated knowledge about the pandemic with the purpose of slowing the spread of COVID-19 by taking the necessary precautions to not overwhelm our resources and cataloging symptoms, resources and new policies. Without the release of this information, the public would most likely not be controlling the virus as much as it could, which could hurt the reputation of the CDC and the public’s trust that the CDC will report and give direction. 

The intended audience of the CDC is the public and it is reached through the CDC’s website and various news media platforms. The CDC’s webpage on COVID-19 is presumably the most reflective of the CDC’s perspective. 
 
The COVID-19 page specifically provides information on slowing the spread, cloth face covers, symptoms and cases. The CDC states the “use of cloth face coverings [helps] slow the spread of COVID-19” (CDC, 2020). They also list symptoms that are associated with the virus and present instructions regarding deciding “if you should be tested or seek care” (CDC, 2020). The CDC is constantly keeping close surveillance on the spread so they also provide weekly summaries of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths. 

Based on the content of the CDC’s page on COVID-19, readers are able to tell that the CDC most values their ability to report all information they know about COVID-19 to the public. The CDC has a large presence in the sociotechnical system due to their influence on the public’s behavior based on what the CDC recommends-such as making and wearing face masks. The CDC is aware that they are the source of knowledge for a majority of people, so they spread as much of this knowledge as they can and work on producing knowledge to stop the virus. 

The CDC is extremely focused on slowing the spread of COVID-19 because they want to keep the public safe and the death toll low. Therefore, one of the most important facts of this pandemic is the death toll. The CDC’s perspective is embedded in many news articles and press interviews with public figures.

An article by The Hill reports that the Director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, stated in an interview that the American public is effectively practicing social distancing, which is why “the numbers are going to be much, much, much, much lower than would have been predicted by the models” (Coleman, 2020). Similarly, an article by NPRreleased a shortened version of another interview with Robert Redfield where he stated that social distancing “is a very powerful weapon” in order to decrease the death toll in America (Whitehead, 2020).

Slowing the spread of COVID-19 by practicing social distancing and closely monitoring the death toll is very important to the CDC as Robert Redfield described. Redfield’s statements relate to the CDC’s purpose in the pandemic of providing guidelines and data in order to control the virus.

In order to effectively serve the public, the US CDC relies on collaboration with their other CDC locations in other countries. The US CDC and their global locations instill trust in each other and share information and data. 

In a policy review released by the journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC Taiwan initiated an early response as the number of confirmed cases in neighboring countries increased. Taiwan CDC quickly released new policies regarding travel, production of test kits, mandated reporting and quarantine in order to keep the public informed with updated knowledge about the pandemic (Lin, 2020).

The US CDC utilizes its global branches to remain informed about the spread of the virus in other countries in order to provide the public with the latest statistics and information. Because of their established trust between CDC locations, the US CDC and CDC Taiwan are able to work collaboratively.

Overall, the perspective of the CDC is one that the public trusts to provide information on COVID-19 and the CDC values this ability. The ultimate goal is to slow the spread of the virus in order to protect the public, and the CDC plays a major role in releasing the necessary facts and information to do so.

References 

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). (2020, March 21). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

This is a primary source from the CDC. The source's purpose is to provide objective data, facts, and information regarding the Coronavirus disease and outbreak. This source has a wide variety of information to make the public more knowledgable on the Coronavirus outbreak. The main ideas found in the source include information on how to protect yourself from COVID-19 and what to do if you think you may have COVID-19. The source also includes information regarding symptoms, preparation for pandemic, travel, schooling, work, and the effect on the elderly and immunocompromised. The information in this source comes directly from the research and data collected by the CDC.

Coleman, J. (2020, April 7). CDC director predicts lower death toll than previously forecasted. The Hill. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/491546-cdc-director-predicts-lower-death-toll-than-forecasted

This source is from The Hill and it is a secondary source. This source shows the perspective of the CDC through quotes from the director of the CDC. The main purpose of this source is to state that the death toll is going to be lower than the CDC originally predicted. The key ideas of this source are that the director of the CDC now predicts a smaller death toll due to the majority of Americans following the quarantine guidelines. This source will provide good evidence into the perspective of the CDC because it gives quotes from the director of the CDC sharing his perspective on effective social distancing and quarantine.

Whitehead, S. (2020, March 31). CDC Director On Models For The Months To Come: 'This Virus Is Going To Be With Us'. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/31/824155179/cdc-director-on-models-for-the-months-to-come-this-virus-is-going-to-be-with-us

This source is a primary source because it includes an interview from the director of the CDC. This source shows the perspective of the director of the CDC on the topic of coronavirus. The main purpose of this source is to answer questions about the coronavirus outbreak. It is important that the director of the CDC is answering these questions because prior to the release of this interview, the only information from the government was from Dr. Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The key ideas in this source include information on the spread of the virus, wearing masks, surges in hospitalization and deaths, testing, long-term efforts and funding. This source provides great evidence of the CDC’s perspective because the interview is with the director of the CDC, who is one of the most knowledgable people on the spread of coronavirus from the CDC.

Lin, C., Braund, W. E., Auerbach, J., Chou, J.-H., Teng, J.-H., Tu, P., & Mullen, J. (2020, March 31). Policy Decisions and Use of Information Technology to Fight 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease, Taiwan. Emerging Infectious Diseases - CDC 26(7). https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200574

The authors of the source have published for a variety of universities before and many are health directors or physicians. This article presents their information in the form of a timeline. The information ranges from Taiwan CDC developing a plan for the spread of coronavirus to research and policy implications. The thesis of this source is that the public’s acceptance of protective policies put forth by Taiwan CDC and their quick response delayed transmission of the coronavirus. The key ideas and evidence in this source include Taiwan CDC effectively developing health screening of travelers and border quarantine, test kits, classification of the virus, and surveillance of the virus. This source will provide additional insight into the CDC’s perspective because it shows the steps and precautions Taiwan CDC implemented during the spread of the coronavirus, which I can use to describe the CDC’s perspective and also compare to the US CDC’s precautions.

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