Unit 2 Assessment Scholarly Article Scavenger Hunt

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COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States Date: 2020 From: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection Publisher: Gale, a Cengage Company Document Type: Topic overview Length: 2,294 words Content Level: (Level 5) Lexile Measure: 1380L

Full Text: Chinese public health officials first reported cases of a new disease characterized by fever and respiratory problems to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2019. The following month, scientists identified the virus as a novel coronavirus, with coronavirus referring to the crown-shaped spikes on the surface of the virus and "novel" meaning a type of coronavirus previously unidentified in a human host. The virus is highly contagious. It is spread by respiratory droplets expelled when people breathe, laugh, sing, cough, or sneeze. Infection can also occur by touching a surface on which a droplet lands and then touching the nose, eyes, or mouth. Health workers discovered additional symptoms of the disease caused by the virus as more people became infected. Johns Hopkins Medical School lists symptoms such as congestion or runny nose, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle or body aches, diarrhea, headache, fatigue, and nausea or vomiting. Some people with the virus have no symptoms; however, the severity of symptoms in others can lead to death. The WHO named the disease caused by the virus in some people the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Though first reported in China, the disease quickly spread to other countries. The United States reported its first case in Washington state on January 20, 2020. By the time the WHO declared the outbreak a pandemic seven weeks later, countries around the world had begun to impose lockdown orders, travel restrictions, and other measures to slow the spread of the infection. As of mid- December 2020, the United States had reported more than 16.5 million cases of COVID-19, contributing to more than 300,000 deaths.

The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic extend beyond the immediate threat to human health posed by the virus itself. Like other countries affected by the virus, the United States has experienced a strain on its health-care infrastructure as well as far-reaching economic effects as both the disease and accompanying health precautions disrupted normal business. The highly infectious nature of the virus led many jurisdictions to encourage social distancing, limit the size of gatherings, and suspend many indoor activities. Further, many businesses and schools shifted operations online to prevent further spread. The handling of the crisis became somewhat politicized, with many Americans, particularly conservatives, resisting public health measures such as mask mandates and business closures. Other Americans have criticized the government for failing to act as quickly and effectively as other countries. In addition to becoming a political issue, the COVID-19 pandemic created difficulties for political campaigns and elections held in November. By December 2020, two vaccines had been approved for use in the United States, and public health experts hoped a massive vaccination program would help to contain the virus.

Main Ideas The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first appeared in China in late 2019. It is a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease. In January 2020 the United States became the first country outside of Asia to report a case of COVID-19. To prevent further spread of the virus, public health agencies issued guidelines that encouraged people to maintain distance from others, minimize physical contact, and wear face coverings. State and local governments adopted different policies to combat COVID-19. Some residents pushed back against public health measures that they viewed as unnecessary. Social media companies have struggled to limit the spread of misinformation about the virus. Inconsistent messaging from the government compounded the issue. In September 2020 journalist Bob Woodward shared interviews he had conducted with President Donald Trump that revealed the president misled the public about the seriousness of the disease.

Background

Though the exact origins of the virus that causes COVID-19 have not been determined, researchers have speculated that it may have first appeared in bats before being transferred to pangolins, or scaly anteaters, where it mutated before transferring to human hosts. Health officials traced the initial outbreak to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, where vendors sold live animals. Popular in many countries across Asia, markets that sell live animals have attracted global scrutiny for potentially increasing the risk of zoonotic diseases (those that spread from animals to humans).

Scientists determined that the virus responsible for COVID-19 resembled the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), known as the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In February 2020 the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) labeled the virus that causes COVID-19 as SARS-CoV-2. When a SARS outbreak infected over eight thousand people in 2003, the United States reported only eight cases. Other global health crises of the early twenty-first century, such as the Ebola and influenza outbreaks, also had relatively minimal effects on the United States.

When officials announced in January 2020 that a person in Washington state had contracted COVID-19, the United States became the first country outside of Asia and one of the few outside China to report the disease. That same month, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would temporarily suspend entry for people traveling from China. The administration followed these orders with further travel restrictions as cases began to appear all over the world. Though some supporters praised Trump for protecting US interests, some of his critics characterized the decision to deny entry from China as being xenophobic. Other critics also highlighted how the Trump administration may have weakened the country's ability to respond to the crisis by disbanding the White House pandemic response team in May 2018 and reducing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) presence in China in 2019.

Social Distancing Measures and Backlash

As scientists began to learn more about COVID-19, public health agencies including the WHO and CDC issued guidelines to help people protect themselves and their communities. These guidelines served to inform both personal conduct and public policy. Guidelines related to personal behavior included advice about minimizing contact, maintaining physical distance from others, and reducing the risk of infection by washing hands frequently and wearing face masks when out in public spaces to reduce the exchange of respiratory droplets. The United States did not adopt mandatory nationwide policies but rather allowed local officials to determine the best steps to protect public health. Many local governments responded to the initial news of the pandemic by closing down all services deemed nonessential. In making those decisions, policy makers had to consider the potential effects of any order on the economy, civil liberties, and public discourse.

Many state and local governments imposed restrictions on gatherings of a certain size and temporarily banned certain business practices such as serving customers indoors at restaurants and bars. Many businesses had to adhere to certain safety guidelines in order to be allowed to reopen, such as requiring employees or patrons to wear masks. However, businesses largely remained free to decide for themselves whether to open to the public or have employees work on-site. Mask requirements varied significantly between jurisdictions, with some places requiring them in all public places and others only requiring them for employees, if at all.

Widespread school closures in the spring of 2020 disrupted education and family life for many Americans. A shift to online learning threatened to further disadvantage children who lacked access to computers or reliable internet connections as well as those who relied on schools for free meals. Further, virtual schooling required parents to facilitate and supervise children's education at home, in some cases while also working from home. When deciding whether to reopen schools for the 2020–2021 school year, school districts had to weigh protecting the health of students, teachers, and employees against the potential adverse effects on students' education and well-being.

Many Americans supported public health precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Some Americans noted that stay-at-home orders not only protected fellow citizens from a deadly disease but also might have provided other benefits. For example, scientists estimated that global greenhouse gas emissions declined by up to 30 percent in April 2020 because of restrictions on travel and movement related to the pandemic. However, certain policies inspired protests from groups that believed travel restrictions, mandated business closures, and mask mandates infringed on their personal freedoms. Many protesters appeared at demonstrations wearing military clothing and carrying firearms. In October 2020 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) foiled plots by the militia group Wolverine Watchmen to kidnap the governors of Michigan and Virginia. Among the grievances that inspired the aspiring kidnappers, the group cited local orders temporarily closing gyms.

Critical Thinking Questions Why has COVID-19 been more disruptive to life in the United States than other diseases? Explain your answer. Do you think the government should have adopted more restrictive policies to fight the spread of COVID-19? Why or why not? In what ways, if any, do you think President Trump's decision to downplay the seriousness of COVID-19 affected the way Americans responded to the threat?

Conflicting Information About COVID-19

Obtaining reliable information about COVID-19 proved difficult at the beginning of the pandemic as scientists continued to learn more about the disease. Some politicians, media outlets, and social media users spread misleading information about the virus, whether intentionally or unintentionally. In some instances, information provided by members of the Trump administration contradicted information provided by leading epidemiologists, public health agencies, and other members of the administration.

The abundance of conflicting information led many Americans to distrust sources they had previously considered reliable, whether public figures, health-care professionals, or members of their own families and social circles. Such an environment allowed conspiracy theories to gain traction, particularly among social media users. Some theories accused the Chinese government of manufacturing the virus in a lab or withholding information about the disease. Other theories linked the outbreak to the development of 5G telecommunications networks. Some misinformation posed immediate health threats such as those dismissing the virus as a hoax or those recommending unsupported and dangerous treatments that included drinking bleach or using cocaine. President Trump attracted criticism for touting several unproven treatments, including those offered by his business associates, and for wondering aloud if direct light or heat or an injection of disinfectant into the body could combat the virus, comments he later characterized as sarcastic. Social media companies struggled to prevent the spread of misinformation out of concern for public safety while balancing free speech concerns.

The Trump administration struggled to deliver consistent messaging about the pandemic. In the early months of the crisis, the administration, particularly the president, characterized COVID-19 as posing no greater threat than seasonal influenzas. In public statements, the president often cast an optimistic picture, suggesting that the crisis was under control and the disease would miraculously disappear. The president frequently praised his administration's handling of the crisis while many public health experts—including immunologist Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—challenged Trump's assessments. Critics expressed concern that the administration's response downplayed or underestimated the seriousness of the disease.

Distrust grew among Americans as evidence surfaced that members of the government had withheld information from the public. In March 2020 evidence surfaced that some members of Congress, both Democrat and Republican, had received confidential information about the virus and then acted upon that information by selling off large amounts of stock for their personal benefits. Further evidence surfaced that one of those senators, Richard Burr (R-NC), had passed the information on to a group of wealthy donors.

Causing further confusion about the virus, many government agencies failed to provide transparent information about the handling of the pandemic response. For example, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency withheld information about the state's procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as data related to the state's ventilator usage, infection, and death rates. By refusing to disclose this information, the state may have violated the state's Open Records Act, which requires most documents be made available to the public.

In September 2020 journalist Bob Woodward published Rage, the journalist's second book on the Trump administration. In addition to completing other research, Woodward recorded eighteen interviews with the president. The book attracted substantial attention for revelations related to what Trump knew about the seriousness of COVID-19 and the way he presented the threat to the public. When speaking with Woodward as early as February, the president acknowledged that he was aware of the severity of the disease and that it could be spread through the air. However, Trump's public comments contradicted this information. In the interviews, Trump admitted that he played down the threat because he "didn't want to create a panic."

As the pandemic continued and the 2020 presidential election approached, the Trump administration began promising that a vaccine would soon be available. Some of Trump's critics accused the president of dismissing safety precautions in the hopes of delivering a vaccine to help his chances of reelection. In the only 2020 vice presidential debate, Democratic candidate and California senator Kamala Harris announced that she would not trust a vaccine recommended by Trump unless it had also received approval from trusted scientists. Misinformation also threatened hopes that enough people would take a potential vaccine to create herd immunity as conflicting and unfounded information regarding vaccines spread widely online. Public health experts expressed concerns that vaccine hesitancy would undermine vaccination efforts.

In December 2020, two vaccines were approved for use in the United States by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and vaccination campaigns targeting those most at risk began on Monday, December 14, 2020. Harris, who became vice president-elect after the November election, had noted in early December 2020 that she would take a vaccine if it was FDA-approved and available to the public. She and Joe Biden, the president-elect, promised that dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, including a massive public vaccination effort, would be a main focus of their administration beginning in early 2021 after their inauguration.

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2020 Gale, a Cengage Company Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition) "COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/XCCTHP408353067/OVIC?u=lirn50909&sid=OVIC&xid=8bd7e4a4. Accessed 23 Jan. 2021. Gale Document Number: GALE|XCCTHP408353067