AUTHOR=Benzian Habib , Johnston Marilyn , Stauf Nicole , Niederman Richard 

TITLE=Presenting or Spinning Facts? Deconstructing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Statement on the Importance of Reopening Schools Under COVID-19

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.645229

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.645229

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Credible, reliable and consistent information to the public, as well as health professionals and decision makers, is crucial to help navigate uncertainty and risk in times of crisis and concern. Traditionally, information and health communications issued by respected and established government agencies have been regarded as factual, unbiased and credible. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is such an agency that addresses all aspects of health and public health on behalf of the government for the benefit of its citizens. In July 2020, the CDC issued guidelines on re-opening schools which resulted in open criticism of the U.S. president and others, prompting a review and publication of revised guidelines together with a special “Statement on the Importance of Re-opening Schools under COVID-19”. 

We hypothesize that this statement introduced bias with the intention to shift the public perception and media narrative in favor of re-opening of schools. Using a mixed methods approach, including an online text analysis tool, we demonstrate that document title and organization, word frequencies, word choice, and website presentation are not providing a balanced account of the complexity and uncertainty surrounding school re-opening during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Despite available scientific guidance and practical evidence-based advice on how to manage infection risks when re-opening schools, the CDC Statement intentionally overrides all possible parent and public health concerns. The CDC Statement provides an example of how political influence is exercised over the presentation of science in the context of a major pandemic.