CDC COVID-19 Guidelines Explainer

11Alive medical contributor Dr. Sujatha Reddy breaks down the latest CDC guidelines surrounding COVID-19.

[HeartDocAndrew]

"CDC COVID-19 Guidelines Explainer" so let's #ConvinceItForward

[rosemariebredahl]

This brings me to the paradox of individuals, vs populations ... which are made of individuals. Historically, a persistent challenge public health professionals (& now YouTube educators) face re advising large populations, is striking a balance between simplicity vs accuracy. How granular the categories they address should be.
The recent U.S. CDC guidelines being too confusing for the public is a poignant example. I'm not defending their approach, and have my own opinions about how it might have been (& be) better handled, but I do understand why they first recommended the same precautions for everyone. Omicron, however, caused unprecedented labor shortages, and to keep hospitals staffed (where appropriate contagion precautions could be reliably practiced) the first exceptions to maximum quarantine requirements were made for hospital staff. Then other folks complained: ~ "No fair! What about our labor shortages? What about families' pay checks? What about in-person learning at schools?" etc.. Bearing in mind that the U.S. not only has a population free to avoid masks and Covid-19 vaccines in many many environments, but also rapid vs PCR test procurement and results delays are different re their use as a tool to mitigate Omicron damage (medically, socioeconomically, etc).
The truth is complicated, and that's not our policy-makers' fault. Nor are they "calling the shots"
(😶sorry, bad pun😁), Covid is.
A simple one-size fits all public policy (as seemingly most people here claim they want), raises the question of how to handle the granular data. Lack of easy public access can lead to accusations of a "cover up", yet easy access to info applying outside the center of ~ "the Bell Curve" logically exposes flaws in the one-size fits all approach. The more granular the detail, the more the concept that any Bell Curve applies just emphasizes how inherently unique individuals actually are.
This, then (esp when weaponized by antagonistic media), becomes a factual data source for individuals to request exceptions be made for them to be excused from complying with the "simple" public policies ... and granting such brings us full circle back to confusion (esp since the U.S. hasn't been allowed to require presentation of health information related to Covid-19 policy compliance ... thus excludes approved policy exceptions too).
Do you have any non-confusing public policy suggestions for helping our CDC w/this which might mitigate efforts by some media sources to discredit them thus endangering our entire population ... even beyond issues related to the Pandemic?
A fan,
Dr. Bredahl