The U.S. is in a sixth COVID wave—but it doesn’t look like it on a new CDC map
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s color-coded map of COVID “community levels” shows most of the U.S. covered in a soothing shade of light green, symbolizing “low” transmission levels, as of May 19.
But another CDC map showing “community transmission” as of May 19 shows most of the country enveloped in red, symbolizing “high” transmission.
Which is reality when it comes to the state of COVID in the U.S.—a safe, soothing sea of teal, or a perilous, fiery ruby inferno?
“This should make you angry,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner—a professor of medicine and surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and CNN medical analyst—tweeted last week, citing a CDC tweet featuring the cool-color map of “community levels.”
“The U.S. is in the midst of a real COVID surge … yet the @CDCgov tweets this,” he said. “Nothing to see here. All is well. Everything is green.”
This should make you angry. The US is in the midst of a real COVID surge with more than 100k reported cases (?500k actual cases) per day yet the @CDCgov tweets this. Nothing to see here. All is well. Everything is green. https://t.co/pPg9iPZS4g
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) May 14, 2022
He also referred to the discrepancy as “gaslighting,” adding, “Tell me why I’m wrong about this.”
2 nights ago I told @donlemon that CDC has been “gaslighting” the United States. Tell me why I’m wrong about this. https://t.co/UxjuolEInn
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) May 13, 2022
The debate has set the Twitterverse ablaze, with one Twitter user sharing a before/after meme of a cartoon dog roasting in yellow flames, then (presumably) relaxing in green flames—a dig at the CDC’s new color scheme.
new meme for the CDC’s COVID-19 maps
h/t @todd8585https://t.co/MD2nmv3F8V pic.twitter.com/fGKxo4kO1s— Nurit Baytch (@NuritBaytch) May 14, 2022
Another individual tweeted, “Today I learned that the Walgreens COVID map is more helpful than the CDC’s.”
Today I learned that the Walgreens covid map is more helpful than the CDC's pic.twitter.com/mhdjT2hbUS
— Read Wobblies and Zapatistas (@JoshuaPotash) April 16, 2022
The U.S. is experiencing a sixth wave of COVID, with over 90,000 confirmed new cases a day and a 20% increase in hospitalizations over the past two weeks. The actual number of new cases per day likely sits at a half million or more, “far greater than any of the U.S. prior waves, except Omicron,” writes Dr. Eric Topol, the executive vice president of Scripps Research and a professor of molecular medicine, in a recent blog post on the maps.
“Meanwhile, the CDC propagates delusional thinking that community levels are very low while the real and important data convey that transmission is very high throughout most of the country. Not only does this further beget cases by instilling false confidence, but it is conveniently feeding the myth that the pandemic is over—precisely what everyone wants to believe.”
What changed?
Things weren’t always this way when it came to the CDC’s visually represented data. Millions of Americans “were instantly transported to a green zone in late February, when the agency unveiled its new metrics and map,” NPR recently reported.
The public health agency didn’t merely swap color palettes on its community levels map—it swapped data sets. Under its new guidance, now based on hospital capacity, anyone living in a green or yellow county can leave their masks at home when stepping out. Prior to February, however, community levels were based on the amount of virus spread and the percent of COVID tests returning positive, according to NPR.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control didn’t respond to Fortune’s request for comment on the map Saturday, including questions about why the data…
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