• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, January 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

An Unforgiving Virus and the Silent CDC

Richard P. Wenzel by Richard P. Wenzel
07/28/20
in Opinion
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), attends a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on "COVID-19 Response" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2020.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, attends a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the COVID-19 response. Photo: Al Drago/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In the ongoing battle to control the relentless surge of COVID-19 cases and casualties, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been painfully absent.

The agency has retreated from daily updates, indispensable for the American people to know where we are, where we’re going, and what data support our national policies. Yet almost 4 million Americans have been infected so far and over 140,000 have died.

There should already be a national mandate for masks in public: data consistently support their widespread use in minimizing infection and death. Furthermore, Goldman Sachs has estimated that $1 trillion could be saved by such a mandate, representing about 5 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product. Such information defies the false dichotomy of health versus economy. Both are winners with universal mask usage.

The United States urgently needs forceful statements to assist the safe opening of schools, businesses, and entertainment centers, depending on infection rates. Equally important, there have to be strict rules to revert to shelter-in-place policies, based on rising rates. Essential workers and small businesses, vulnerable with such actions, need to be protected by new stimulus packages.

National Guidance on COVID-19

We know that COVID-19 is transmitted by close person to person contact with respiratory droplets from infected people, and sometimes by tiny droplets emitted several meters away hours after the infected person left an enclosed area.

The key mantra is to stay outdoors, stay away from crowds, maintain clean air, wear masks in public, and maintain personal hygiene. The CDC should define data-driven control measures for opening schools, businesses, and entertainment centers. A vocal national statement needs to replace the current patchwork of confusing state directives.

A women wears a mouth mask amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Prices of masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes have skyrocketed. Photo: AFP

Questions need to be addressed with a nuanced language of uncertainty. How do we define each of the known control measures for safe travel in a bus or on public transportation to school? How do we keep students socially distanced in classrooms, bathrooms, and other common areas? When do students need to wear masks? How many air exchanges per hour will keep the air clean? Should we install safely-shielded, UV light in all rooms where students are present to sterilize the air? How often should students be tested for the virus? What do we do with the information?

Time for CDC to Do Its Job

The unfortunate truth is that the more the CDC shies away from daily updates to the public, the more such shrinking timidity erodes confidence in public health authorities. The presentations should be science-based: what we know, what we don’t know, and what assumptions currently inform the espoused policies. Written, general guidelines are insufficient; bold TV and radio pronouncements are essential.

#TakeAction to slow the spread of #COVID19 by wearing a cloth face covering in public spaces, keeping at least 6 feet of physical distance, & frequently washing your hands. Make a cloth face covering from a t-shirt, scarf or cloth napkin. Learn how at https://t.co/RxIwGVIdCq pic.twitter.com/wtDCESLIb2

— CDC Emergency (@CDCemergency) July 23, 2020

It is presumed that the CDC has been marginalized for political purposes. But scientific updates cannot be subjugated by the bullying threats of being fired by a president unschooled in and disdainful of science. The critical issues are not only health and the economy, but also those of great ethical import – we continue to lose thousands of lives daily, the result of the sluggish and inadequate responses to the pandemic.

In French philosopher Albert Camus’ allegorical novel, The Plague, the protagonist is asked how he manages so tirelessly to face the waves of patients needing help. Dr. Rieux, the book’s narrator, responds, “It may seem a ridiculous idea, but the only way to fight the plague is with decency.” When asked what decency is, he responds, “doing my job.”

It’s time for the CDC to do its job. The public is eager to join the fight but seeks the national clarion call for action that will reduce the unforgiving pain and suffering of COVID-19.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Richard P. Wenzel

Richard P. Wenzel

Infectious Diseases epidemiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He is Editor-at-Large of The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Wenzel is emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at VCU and has been President both of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiologists of America and the International Society for Infectious Diseases

Related Posts

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York
Opinion

George Santos for Speaker!

by Stephen J. Lyons
January 16, 2023
A woman undergoing COVID test in China
Featured

Soaring Covid Cases Shine Light on China’s Healthcare Gap

by Staff Writer
January 11, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives
National

Chaos as US House Adjourns Without Choosing Speaker

by Staff Writer
January 4, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines
Opinion

Eight Billion and Counting…

by Stephen J. Lyons
November 29, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 17, 2022
Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy
Featured

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 5, 2022
Next Post
Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Not Accepted: The Tale of an Iraqi Human Rights Activist in Turkey

North Korean women face long-standing gender-based mistreatment, pictured in Pyongyang.

Women in North Korea's Detention Centers Face Sexual Abuse: UN Report

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

Israeli security forces in Jerusalem

Palestinian Gunman Kills 7 in East Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

January 30, 2023
The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Race on To Replace Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

January 20, 2023
Pfizer logo and vaccines

Pfizer to Sell More Drugs at Cost to Poor Nations

January 18, 2023
Rescuers inspect the wreckage at the site of a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal

At Least 67 Killed in Nepal Plane Crash

January 16, 2023

Opinion

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post