When it comes to Health and Wellness knowing your sexual status has always been important and now knowing your COVID19 status is the latest new status that needs to be checked and followed up on. COVID19 testing has been made free at many locations based on areas and communities. Coronavirus data has also been made available to the public through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The C.D.C shares updates from hospital reports based on different areas and ethnicities. Although public data and records should always be made available to the public, like police data and records for example. Coronavirus data will no longer be made public, which has many people worried, especially during a time as such, as we live through a worldwide pandemic.
Just yesterday on July 14th, 2020, President Trump administration stripped the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from collecting data and reporting on the latest coronavirus cases in the United States. This information will no longer be available to the public. The traditional method of collecting and reporting data for disease prevention has been completely changed and according to the Trump administration it is for the better.
The change of reporting information and data to the C.D.C comes from the Trump administration wanting to be more hands on and expedite the information to make sure information reported is up-to-date. According to Health and Human Services spokesman, Michael Caputo, the CDC has been “seeing a lag of a week or more in data coming from hospitals and that only 85% of hospitals have been participating.” Therefore this is where and why the change comes about with the data reporting from the C.D.C to the central database in Washington, D.C.
The C.D.C’s system was gathering data from more than 25,000 medical centers around the country. However, this drastic and haphazard change in procedure and access has been questioned and raises concern for many people and businesses as far as transparency. The CDC reporting was their go-to to find the latest information to know how to run their business or to just be up-to-date with the virus around them. Also with many school districts figuring out if they are to open and their strategy this is one less resource they have to lean on and check out.
With coronavirus information now being made private, continue to follow C.D.C guidelines and rules. Also continue to wash your hands, ALWAYS wear your face masks, social distance while out, and quarantine if exposed. Still go out to the free and available drive-up or appointment only testing sites to know your COVID19 status and protect yourself and those around by getting tested. A highly recommended suggestion of getting tested at least once a month could help keep worry or stress levels down. Once a regular common cold symptom shows we tend to freak out, well get tested and be sure.
