Nikki Minsky
//The agency has squandered its chance to take a unified stance in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic//
The CDC’s recent messaging and protocols surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have been unclear and contradictory, causing people to question the credibility of the organization’s guidance. The inconsistent statements released only add to a rampant “pandemic fatigue,” resulting in people deciding to forgo safety precautions, claiming they are vaccinated and there is nothing more they can do. The CDC must improve their messaging to ensure that people follow it going forward, but they may have trouble doing so.
The bureaucratic nature of the agency does not allow it to make the kind of immediate updates that are needed to keep people safe in a pandemic. This was made clear in the deliberation of booster shots for the COVID vaccine, which were initially only approved for those 65+ and adults who are immunocompromised. CDC Director Walensky added an exception to this ruling by saying that all frontline workers over 18 should also receive booster shots, going against the advisory committee’s official stance that there was not enough evidence that booster shots were needed for healthy people under the age of 65. If boosters had been made available to everyone earlier, more people could have been protected from the Delta and Omicron variants. The slow release of information can also lead to changes in guidelines without the full rationale being made available to the public.
Additionally, public health officials have raised concerns about the safety of the guidance the CDC has offered, especially considering the reduction of the isolation period from ten to five days. While the CDC is correct in stating that the majority of Omicron transmission occurs in the first five days after the onset of symptoms, UChicago infectious disease specialist Dr. Emily Landon says, “The data shows that about 20% to 40% of people are still going to be able to transmit COVID after five days.” The decision to shorten the quarantine period to 5 days was largely an effort to keep people at work, effectively placing the economy over the health and safety of citizens.
Ultimately, the CDC’s COVID-19 response team does not have the necessary power and funding to manage this pandemic. This makes it difficult to convey clear and accurate messaging to the American people which leads to confusion on what directions to follow. The influence of the CDC is limited, especially given polls showing a decline in interest in COVID-19 as the country approaches its third year in this pandemic. Members of the response team are also facing concerning levels of burnout, with each new wave of the pandemic increasing their workload. Rather than recruiting officials who have experience working with infectious diseases, this team relies on experts to volunteer. All of these team members are still required to fulfill their responsibilities outside of the response team, despite having to work at the same level of intensity as they did at the start of the pandemic. The CDC response team has also had to keep up with a rapidly spreading and mutating virus that has mutated to twelve known variants in just over three years since it was first documented. The agency has to provide rapid risk assessments which can mean that guidance given to the public is rushed and has to be revised later. This also means that by taking more time to deliberate, the guidance the CDC provides could be negated by a new variant.
The only way for the country to overcome this pandemic and regain a sense of normalcy is for everyone to follow the science; That, however, requires clear guidance and messaging from officials. Going forward, the CDC should designate a team of officials whose sole primary focus is to research and provide updates to the public on the COVID-19 pandemic.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky
Dr. Anthony Faucci and Dr. Rochelle Walensky at a COVID-19 briefing