The U.S. Federal Response to COVID-19 During the First 3 Months of the Outbreak: Was an Evidence-Based Approach an Option?

• DOI: 10.1177/0275074020942408
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Date: 01 August 2020
• Author: Monica Solinas-Saunders
• Subject Matter: Using COVID-19 to Advance Learning, Management, & Policy OutcomesEvidence-Based Decision Making for Public Health Management

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074020942408

American Review of Public Administration

2020, Vol. 50(6-7) 713 –719

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0275074020942408

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Evidence-Based Decision Making for Public Health Management

In late 2019, China reported several cases of an unusual type

of pneumonia among a cluster of individuals associated with

a Wuhan Seafood Market in the Hubei Province. On January

7, 2020, Chinese governmental authorities confirmed that

these cases had been identified as novel coronavirus (2019-

nCoV) cases. The first case of 2019-nCoV (a.k.a. COVID-

19) in the United States was identified in the Everett

Providence Regional Medical Center of Seattle, Washington,

on January 20, 2020. The case was confirmed following test-

ing conducted directly by the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia (Holshue et al.,

2020). The patient, a 35-year-old male returning from a visit

to Wuhan, China, became known as “U.S. COVID-19 patient

zero” (Aronson-Rath, 2020). The Everett Providence

Regional Medical Center personnel were well prepared to

face an emergency crisis. They had gone through a specific

training protocol and knew how to respond to hazardous situ-

ations, such as the spread of a virus (Aronson-Rath, 2020).

Once patient zero was isolated and treated, they believed the

situation was under control. Very soon, however, more cases

of patients infected with COVID-19 who had no ties to

patient zero or anyone else who traveled to Wuhan, China,

became known to the Seattle medical community. It was then

that the scientists realized that the situation was not under

control and they were dealing with a virus of which they

knew very little (Aronson-Rath, 2020). COVID-19 was

already a U.S. problem that needed a coordinated national

response. While nobody was an expert at that point, consid-

ering the novelty of the virus, the U.S. federal government

had the option to follow emergency management protocols

implemented in the past, during other pandemics and disas-

ters, explore data generated by other countries that experi-

enced COVID-19 several weeks ahead of the United States,

and carefully consider the national experts’ advice, following

what is known as the “evidence-based approach.”

The Evidence-Based Approach

In the last 20 years, much emphasis has been placed on evi-

dence-based decision-making in the United States and other

advanced nations across all areas of government and science

(Hole et al., 2017). Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

is credited as the first public figure to openly endorse the

evidence-based approach in government decision-making in

modern history. In 1999, Blair explicitly promoted the use of

evidence-based practices for an effective approach to lead

governments. Some consider this a departure that led to the

modernization of the British government (Parsons, 2002).

942408ARPXXX10.1177/0275074020942408The American Review of Public AdministrationSolinas-Saunders

research-article2020

1Indiana University Northwest, Gary, USA

Corresponding Author:

Monica Solinas-Saunders, School of Public and Environmental Affairs,

Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN 46408, USA.

Email: msolinas@iun.edu

The U.S. Federal Response to

COVID-19 During the First 3 Months

of the Outbreak: Was an Evidence-Based

Approach an Option?

Monica Solinas-Saunders1

Abstract

This essay is a commentary on the U.S. Federal government response to the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak. The focus is on the

response of the Trump Administration during the first 3 months of the outbreak, specifically the period between January

20, 2020, and May 15, 2020. The following question is addressed: To what extent was the strategy implemented by the U.S.

federal government guided by evidence-based decisions? While nobody was a COVID-19 expert at the beginning of the

outbreak, this being a novel virus, the essay argues that the U.S. federal government failed to use evidence from previous

pandemics and natural disasters and from the experience of other countries. In addition, the essay warns of the current lack

of consistency in following data generated by U.S. agencies and institutions.

Keywords

COVID-19, pandemic, evidence-based approach