Bureaucratic Communication: The Management of COVID-19
Abstract (TL;DR)
There are things that we don’t know and government’s partisanship and bureaucracy are critical reasons why. Meeting simple public and economic needs should be simple and, from a scientific perspective, it is. However, when scientists have to interact with government, a second bureaucratic system, information can get lost. That partisanship can also trickle down to the local level, causing dangerous skepticism and worsening the pandemic.
It’s amazing how fast a pandemic can begin and just as amazing how fast our scientists, healthcare officials and food service workers change their routines to accommodate the rest of us. Unfortunately, not all of us are so quick to adjust to the moment.
I want to discuss the management of the disease that’s been interrupting all of our lives as of late - COVID-19.
Clarifying Coronavirus
When any management system, or bureaucracy, butts heads with another system, we can run into complexity. Unfortunately, since science has its own bureaucracy and government often overwrites that scientific bureaucracy (as the primary funders and regulators), there is a ton of complexity.
Let’s perform an exercise; I have a few questions that I want you to answer (in the comments, if you’re so inclined; I’m curious about how this information has been communicated to you). First, were you able to keep up with the virus’ name changes - from 2019-nCoV to SARS-CoV-2 to COVID-19 - and are these even the same thing? Second, has the virus’ origins been confirmed or only estimated?
I’ll tackle the definitions to keep it clear. When a virus is discovered and analyzed, it receives a temporary name. In this case, the temporary name given to this virus was 2019-nCoV [1] - “n” standing for “novel”, or new. As the genetics of the virus are analyzed, sometimes, we see similarities with other, known viruses. In this case, the genetics of 2019-nCoV are similar to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, which was identified in 2003. It’s name was changed to SARS-CoV-2 to include this detail (the virus in 2003 was called SARS-CoV). In other words, the 2019 coronavirus is causing a similar kind of disease as the 2003 coronavirus. 2019-nCoV and SARS-CoV-2 both refer to the virus. On the other hand, COVID-19 refers to the disease itself (COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019).
Health professionals even go as far as to strategize on the proper methods of communication of thesse details. The World Health Organization, for example, prefers not to use either of the names of the virus and instead calls it “the virus responsible for COVID-19” to avoid scaring people that have lived through the epidemic in 2003[2]. Scientists that are communicating with each other or in journals will use SARS-CoV-2[3] because it’s easy for them to associate new viruses with older ones (World Health Organization, 2020, p. 7). It seems to me that something with such structure should be communicated to the public as is. But it hasn’t been that simple, has it?
As for its origins, media and even government throws around that SARS-CoV-2 definitely came from bats. Actually, it’s only probable[4] that it’s come from bats, based on the similarity this virus has to other SARS-like viruses that do originate in bats. So, how do we prevent a future outbreak if we don’t know exactly where it came from? To be fair, that’s not the priority at the moment, but it’s something to consider for the future.
Government Interference
This pandemic has put a massive strain on us for one primary reason: a partisan government. It shouldn’t; after all, humans are heavily societal - we need each other. In the midst of this virus, however, we’ve experienced arguments over simple acts of public care. Some media outlets are even casting doubt on the people spearheading solutions to this crisis, which is dangerous. Distrust of our experts can lead to rebellion against necessary action.
Government is a necessary component to public communication - don’t get me wrong. However, when government is partisan and ego-driven, it fails to pay respect to what is necessary - a deference to scientists, public health workers and public needs. When these two bureaucracies mingle, we end up in situations where our government’s leader says the country will be up and running in as little as two weeks, but the scientific officials end up citing absolute uncertainty (due to lack of evidence) or, at best, providing a date in the summer. This dysfunction muddies the waters when it comes to communication of what people need to know.
But how serious is this; is it worth me writing about something that’s, clearly, a personal pet peeve? It absolutely is worth writing about; this partisanship at the federal level seeps down to the local level. The evidence of this can be found in reporting between how people with different political leanings are treating this pandemic. The result? Outbreaks are unfolding at high rates in particular states, not only according to population, but also politics! This is dangerous and a mess! There is no need for this virus to spread because one group thinks that the country’s economy is worth more than the health of everyone or that we shouldn’t worry about it. That’s how people stop taking a serious situation seriously.
What Do We Need To Do?
Information gets amplified when both the scientists and government are saying the same thing. It’s how we are so knowledgeable of the CDC’s tips: washing your hands for 20 seconds, at the least; avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth - the ports of entry for the virus - if you haven’t washed your hands; keeping a distance of at least six feet from people; covering your coughs and sneezes with the crook of your elbow; and staying home if you’re sick. But did you know that the World Health Organization puts out situation reports every single day, showing the number of new cases, deaths and more? Did you know that your state government keeps COVID information updated, sometimes by district or county, on its website (“‘state’.gov”)? Did you know that your state and local representatives and governors are on top of frequent video briefings?
Although scientists are begrudgingly forced to partake in the political theater, you do not have to. This is not the time for politics; it’s the time for science and taking care of the needs of the public as our daily routines are on hold.
And we have the capacity to make that shift.
We saw to it in the various outbreaks that have taken place in the last century - there were at least 10 epidemics, from the worst in 1918 to the slightly better in 1976 and all those in between and after. If you are feeling angry and confused, you have every right to. But do not sink into despair. Humans have survived hundreds of thousands of years through our fierce social unity. Let this crisis be just another example of that.
Citations:
[1] Gorbalenya, A. E., Baker, S. C., Baric, R. S., de Groot, R. J., Drosten, C., Gulyaeva, A. A., … Ziebuhr, J. (2020). Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: The species and its viruses – a statement of the Coronavirus Study Group. BioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.07.937862. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.07.937862v1.full.pdf
[2] Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it. (2020, February 11). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it.
[3] World Health Organization. (2020, February 13). World Health Organization Press Conference - February 13, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcripts/who-audio-emergencies-coronavirus-full-press-conference-13feb2020-final.pdf?sfvrsn=b5435aa2_2.
[4] Li, W. (2005). Bats Are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-Like Coronaviruses. Science, 310(5748), 676–679. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1118391
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