A brief description of the Covid 19 disease
Covid 19 is an infectious disease caused by a “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2″ (SARS-CoV virus). The infection got identified amid the respiratory disease outbreak in Wahuna City in China. It was first reported to WHO in December 2019 (United Nations, 2020). However, in 2020, WHO declared the outbreak of Covid 19 as a global health emergency. In March of the same year, it was reported to be a global pandemic. However, it is assumed that the virus might have originated from animals and is muted to cause illness in humans. It has been traced that those viruses originated from birds, pigs, bats, and bats and got muted and became more dangerous to humans (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022). More research is being done to reveal how the coronavirus evolved (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022). Most individuals affected by the Virus experience mild to manage respiratory diseases and recover without special treatment. However, some victims would become seriously ill until they get special medical attention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Older persons and those with special medical conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or chronic respiratory diseases are vulnerable and more likely to develop severe illnesses when infected by Covid 19 (United Nations, 2020). However, anyone with Covid 19 gets seriously sick and dies at any age. Knowing the disease and how it spreads is the best way to prevent it. Protecting oneself and others by staying at least one meter away. Washing one’s hands, using an alcohol-based rub, and wearing masks frequently are ways to protect oneself and others (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022).
Additionally, being vaccinated is essential; therefore, everyone is advised to do so. The virus can “transmit from an infected person’s mouth” or nose when they sneeze, speak, cough or breath via liquid particles. Researchers know the virus is spread through particles and droplets released into the air by an infected person. The particles vary from larger respiratory droplets to small aerosols (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Large particles might fall on the ground after a few seconds, while the small ones might linger in the air and accumulate indoors, specifically in places where many people are gathered. There is no ventilation or space for good air circulation. Therefore, everyone needs to practice respiratory etiquette in various ways, including coughing in a flexed elbow, and if infected, stay at home and in isolation until recovery.
Evaluate Government/ CDC plan to combat Covid
The American government did its best to ensure its people’s safety during this pandemic. It was a severe pandemic for the government, but it stood firm. Since launching an agency wide-response to the Covid pandemic in 2020, the CDC has put more attention on learning about diseases, how they spread and how they affect people and communities (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Their work assists healthcare practitioners, the community, and the public in protecting themselves and saving many lives. CDC collected information and offered recommendations about the vaccines distributed in America after receiving an emergency use authorization from the “Food and Drug Administration .”Even though the CDC has no role in developing vaccines, they have been working closely with the health departments, among other various partners, to develop programs for vaccination (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Moreover, CDC has established the V- safe tool to rapidly increase human beings’ ability to detect any safety issues with Covid 19 vaccines. V-Safe refers to a smartphone-based health checker for individuals who have received the Covid 19 vaccines. Additionally, CDC worked on characterizing and detecting new Covid 19 virus variants. They have obtained further information about those variants, and the agency is still providing updates to the public and worldwide (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Persistent health disparities, the historical patterns of housing, and work circumstances, among other factors, have placed members of some ethnic and racial groups or minority populations at greater risk for serious illness, infections, and death from Covid 19. However, CDC has worked on reducing those gaps by understanding more about their causes and providing healthcare workers and other health employees with the needed tools to close them. CDC is also working on learning about the short and long-term effects of Covid 19. As the pandemic is unfolding, it has been realized that the pandemic not only affects the lungs. It can affect many organs in the body apart from the lungs.
In addition, CDC has also investigated “multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children .”It is a severe and rare complication observed in some children after being infected with the Covid 19 virus. The team has learned more about the syndrome and quickly communicated the information to the parents, health care providers, and caregivers, as well as the local, state, tribal, and territorial departments (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Similarly, CDC has launched a nationwide initiative to assist the local, state, territorial and tribal departments in addressing their staffing issues via innovative hiring mechanisms. Therefore, CDC aims to reduce Covid 19 transmission and increase scientific knowledge about the virus. Also, it is working on improving health security in both low, high- and middle-income nations.
On the other hand, the American government also released a national Covid 19 preparedness plan, enabling Americans to move forward safely. The program helped Americans with a roadmap for fighting Covid 19 in the future as they start returning to their everyday routines (The White House, 2021). We look to an end whereby Americans do not fear lockdowns, shutdowns, and a future where their kids are not going to school. It is a future in which the country relies on powerful protection layers they have built and invested in (The White House, 2021). the government ensured that all Americans had access to regular, reliable, and free testing. It has also invested in subsequent generation testing. Also, the government fixed personal protective equipment. President Biden took responsibility and gave the states, territories, cities, and tribes the critical supplies they needed. The government also played an essential role in providing clear, consistent, evidence-based guidance on how the communities should navigate the Covid 19 pandemic and the resources for schools, families, and small businesses to make it through. The government ensured that the safety measures provided were not associated with politics but with saving lives. All social gatherings were banned, and there were no weddings or other parties to protect people from the pandemic (The White House, 2021). Additionally, the government prioritized the aged and those with a higher risk of getting the virus. However, all these have been done during the pandemic. Initially, the government did not inform the citizens about the pandemic’s extreme. However, in March, the government had to take extreme measures against the pandemic (The White House, 2021). The measures included restrictions on traveling and closing the borders, and all travelers were to be quarantined before associating with other members of the family/ community. The government also laid policies to help with social distancing; schools, universities, and businesses were temporarily closed. The measures not only helped America but the whole world. Nevertheless, this made Americans panic since there was daily news from everywhere about the updates on the pandemic.
Do you think it was an effective plan?
The government did its best to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic. After many years, it was the first time that the government had to deal with such a big issue. The government laid out many measures and took many precautions to slow the spread of Covid 19 until there was a vaccine to prevent people from getting extremely ill. Even though closing up schools interfered with the school programs, it helped save children from being infected or infecting others. Additionally, closing the border helped the government to keep its members safe and away from outsiders. Even though closing up businesses and other job opportunities made many people lose their jobs and some had difficulty acquiring their basic needs, it was worth it, for life was essential. However, I think there was confusion in the updates and giving out protective measures. This is because many people were speaking about the virus. This led to confusion because everyone had something different from the other person. I think it could have been good if only one person had spoken about the issue and given updates about the pandemic. Many people giving updates increased fear and confusion. Many people had different opinions about the pandemic due to much additional information from others. CDC also played an essential role in helping curb the spread of this disease and in developing vaccines. Hover the government, and the CDC plan was effective because it helped American citizens start returning to their routines. Also, I think citizens also contributed a lot to slow the spread of this disease. They ensured that they had adhered to the rules laid out by the government and agreed to stay indoors. Also, whenever one felt the signs of the virus, they isolated themselves from others and informed the healthcare workers. Therefore, I believe the plan was effective because it was that plan that made us reach this far, open schools, business and get back to our everyday lives.
Do you think the government responded timely and efficient?
In my opinion, the government did not respond timely. It waited to measure the strength of the pandemic before taking action. If the government could have responded to the pandemic timely, it could be easier to slow the spread of Covid 19. However, I trust that the government responded efficiently. As discussed above, the government did its best to stop the spread of the virus, thus enabling people to return to their everyday lives.
The impacts of Covid 19 on families
Covid 19 impacted everyone. However, some were more drastically impacted than others. For some families, it meant making changes daily due to the financial crisis. Raising anxiety in children, the tension in relationships, and parenting (Gadermann et al., 2021). Most families were filled with fear. Finding a new normal was not easy for most of them. People’s lives abruptly changed from being busy to being stuck at home, in the same place with the same people all the time (Gadermann et al., 2021). Parents had to work and homeschool their children for schools were closed. Most things that brought people joy and happiness, like sports, got canceled, and people were now living boring life (Gadermann et al., 2021). face to face counseling was restricted; therefore, people were not allowed to interact outside their homes. This means the government did not consider individuals with health issues like anxieties or those who did not have healthy homes, thus failing.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Basics of covid-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19/basics-covid-19.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). CDC’s response to covid-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cdcresponse/index.html
Gadermann, A. C., Thomson, K. C., Richardson, C. G., Gagné, M., McAuliffe, C., Hirani, S., & Jenkins, E. (2021, January 1). Examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Family Mental Health in Canada: Findings from a national cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/1/e042871
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2022, July 29). What is coronavirus? Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus
United Nations. (2020). Coronavirus. United Nations. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus?gclid=CjwKCAjwm8WZBhBUEiwA178UnCt_XZ34AMWfUHbgg32mvOLHqoQsTSON577B5euk1-yisPumi1CBhBoCEGQQAvD_BwE
The White House. (2021, January 21). Combating covid-19. The White House. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/covid-19/
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