Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education

 

Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic with Reliable Data

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2-2021

Citation

Scharmann, L.C. (2021). Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with reliable data. Innovation News Network. https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/fighting-the-covid-19-pandemic-with-reliable-data/9401/.

Abstract

Biologists, infectious disease specialists, and healthcare professionals make use of the evolutionary principle of common ancestry as a problem-solving lens. We apply the evolutionary principle of common ancestry as a problem-solving lens each time we encounter an infectious disease. The first question to be asked is whether the disease is already known. If it is known we can mitigate the spread of the disease based on existing strategies (e.g. quarantining, isolation, vaccination). If it is new, however, the next question posed is: ‘does this new disease at the very least closely resemble other known diseases?’ In this essay, I discuss why scientists keep changing their minds about COVID-19 recommendations and the importance of reliable data.

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