Job posting, pandemic law do not prove COVID-19 was planned | Fact check
The claim: 2019 CDC job posting and 2013 law highlighted by FDA prove pandemic was planned
[En Español: Aviso de empleo, ley pandémica no prueban que COVID-19 fue planeado]
A June 26 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shares images of a 2019 job posting for public health advisors for quarantine stations around the U.S. as well as an FDA post about the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013.
“Evidence the Plandemic was planned,” the post says in Spanish.
It claims the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention job post and the law predating the discovery of COVID-19 in China show preparations for an intentional COVID-19 pandemic were happening back in 2013.
The post was shared more than 70 times in nine days.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: False
These posts are routine, not evidence the COVID-19 pandemic was planned. The job listing was a standard posting for staff long used at ports of entry around the country, while the FDA post highlighted the reauthorization of a law that allows it to be prepared for a possible disease outbreak.
Preparation is not proof of ‘plandemic’
The baseless conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 pandemic was planned (commonly referred to as the “plandemic”) has spread on social media since early in the pandemic. But the posts from the CDC and FDA are not evidence of a conspiracy.
USA TODAY, like many other fact-checkers, has previously debunked the idea the pandemic was planned, refuting a viral video that cherry-picked facts and made inaccurate assumptions to support the notion.
The job listing for medical advisors for CDC quarantine stations is authentic, as confirmed by an archive of the actual job posting from November 2019. But it was a routine posting in line with the government’s role in watching ports of entry for people possibly carrying infectious diseases. This is a standard protocol and a role the CDC says dates back to colonial times. The quarantine system was “fully nationalized” by 1921, according to the agency.
The CDC says on its website it operates 20 port health stations at entry points such as airports and land crossings, where advisors are tasked with determining what testing, monitoring, treatment or isolation could be necessary to prevent the spread of an illness.
Fact check: No, study didn’t blame COVID-19 vaccines for excess pandemic deaths
The post also contains a screenshot of a Spanish-language page from the FDA discussing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 as proof the agency was taking steps to unleash a pandemic. This also grossly misrepresents an act of preparation intended to mitigate future public health emergencies.
The act clarified and refined a 2008 law, giving legal authority to public health officials to take certain actions to mitigate emergencies caused by chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear agents as well as “emerging infectious disease threats,” according to the FDA. It specifically supports the agency in developing “medical countermeasures,” a term for drugs, vaccines and devices to be used in such emergencies.
USA TODAY could not reach the social media user who shared the claim for comment.
Lead Stories and Reuters previously debunked posts making claims about the job listing.
Our fact-check sources:
- CDC (archive), Nov. 15, 2019, Public Health Advisor (Quarantine Program
- CDC (YouTube), Sept. 21, 2018, CDC’s Quarantine Legacy
- CDC, May 15, Port Health Stations
- CDC, May 15, History of Port Health
- FDA, Dec. 19, 2022, Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 (PAHPRA)
- FDA, Jan. 2014, Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 (PAHPRA) Medical Countermeasure (MCM) Authorities: FDA Questions and Answers for Public Health Preparedness and Response Stakeholders
- USA TODAY, Aug. 23, 2020, Fact check: ‘Plandemic II’ alleges false conspiracy theory involving CDC, NIH; pandemic not planned
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
