COVID-19 Policy Guidance
| Tracking # |
21-01738-FOIA |
| Submitted | July 23, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Erin Marie Miller
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
- All correspondence including emails, faxes, text messages, and physical documents between CDC staff and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services former director Robert Gordon’s office between the dates of 11/1/2019 and 1/22/2021 related to COVID-19.
Mr. Gordon’s email address is GordonR3@michigan.gov.
There may be other email addresses associated with Mr. Gordon, so you should reach out to his office to confirm all of the email addresses that were used to communicate about COVID-19 during the aforementioned date range while you are in the process of locating the requested records. Please also make sure to check filing cabinets for physical documents like printed letters and faxes.
To assist you in your search, I have attached a spreadsheet of CDC staff email addresses that corresponded with Mr. Gordon during the requested time period. This spreadsheet was provided to me by MDHHS through a separate FOIA request.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In order to help determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been regularly published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism.
Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest. Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, I request a waiver of all fees.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. If a fee waiver is not granted, I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds this amount, please notify me in writing prior to beginning work on the request.
I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Please feel free to contact me directly with any additional questions.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Erin Marie Miller
-
Results2.xlsx
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hello,
Unfortunately, the CDC portal login for this request is not working and so far I have been unable to access the communications sent to this address.
Please email info@muckrock.com to let them know that I am unable to access the communications you've sent. They should be able to fix the portal login with your agency's assistance, as there seems to be a glitch in the CDC's system that won't allow me to log in using the credentials assigned to this request.
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hello,
The portal access seems to be fixed. However, when I log in to my CDC portal to view the status of this request, the request is not there. Can you please clarify what happened, or let me know if you closed this request for some reason? Thank you.
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hello,
Since my initial request via MuckRock was missing from the CDC portal, and the CDC's responses and communications associated with that request were also missing in the portal once I was able to log in, I have re-submitted the same request under this address in the portal. Please send responses here.
Thank you,
Erin
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dear Miller,Erin,
The status of your FOIA request #21-01738-FOIA has been updated to the following status 'Received'. To log into the CDC FOIA Public Access Link click on the Application URL below.
https://foia.cdc.gov/
Sincerely,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dear Erin Miller,
Case Number 21-01738-FOIA has been assigned to the request you submitted. In all future correspondence regarding this request please reference case number 21-01738-FOIA.
Regards,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
August 9, 2021
Request Number: 21-01738-FOIA
Dear Erin Miller: This is regarding your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of August 5, 2021, for To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:- All correspondence including emails, faxes, text messages, and physical documents between CDC staff and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services former director Robert Gordon’s office between the dates of 11/1/2019 and 1/22/2021 related to COVID-19.Mr. Gordon’s email address is GordonR3@michigan.gov.There may be other email addresses associated with Mr. Gordon, so you should reach out to his office to confirm all of the email addresses that were used to communicate about COVID-19 during the aforementioned date range while you are in the process of locating the requested records. Please also make sure to check filing cabinets for physical documents like printed letters and faxes.To assist you in your search, I have attached a spreadsheet of CDC staff email addresses that corresponded with Mr. Gordon during the requested time period. This spreadsheet was provided to me by MDHHS through a separate FOIA request.The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.In order to help determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been regularly published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism.Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest. Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, I request a waiver of all fees.?In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. If a fee waiver is not granted, I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds this amount, please notify me in writing prior to beginning work on the request.I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.Please feel free to contact me directly with any additional questions.Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.Sincerely,Erin Marie Miller (Date Range for Record Search: From 11/01/2019 To 01/22/2021).
Please see the attached letter.
Sincerely,
CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office
770-488-6399
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
August 10, 2021
Request Number: 21-01738-FOIA
Dear Erin Miller: This is regarding your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of August 5, 2021, for To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:- All correspondence including emails, faxes, text messages, and physical documents between CDC staff and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services former director Robert Gordon’s office between the dates of 11/1/2019 and 1/22/2021 related to COVID-19.Mr. Gordon’s email address is GordonR3@michigan.gov.There may be other email addresses associated with Mr. Gordon, so you should reach out to his office to confirm all of the email addresses that were used to communicate about COVID-19 during the aforementioned date range while you are in the process of locating the requested records. Please also make sure to check filing cabinets for physical documents like printed letters and faxes.To assist you in your search, I have attached a spreadsheet of CDC staff email addresses that corresponded with Mr. Gordon during the requested time period. This spreadsheet was provided to me by MDHHS through a separate FOIA request.The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.In order to help determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been regularly published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism.Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest. Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, I request a waiver of all fees.?In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. If a fee waiver is not granted, I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds this amount, please notify me in writing prior to beginning work on the request.I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.Please feel free to contact me directly with any additional questions.Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.Sincerely,Erin Marie Miller (Date Range for Record Search: From 11/01/2019 To 01/22/2021).
Please see the attached letter.
Sincerely,
CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office
770-488-6399
-
Results2
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hi Mark,
Please include the following keywords (separately -- not all together) in your search:
"COVID-19"
"SARS-CoV-2"
"severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2"
"coronavirus"
"human coronavirus 2019"
"Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 "
"2019 novel coronavirus"
"2019-nCoV"
"HCoV-19"
"hCoV-19"
"SARSr-CoV"
"cases"
"deaths"
"at-risk communities"
"at risk communities"
"uninsured communities"
"at-risk"
"at risk"
"high risk"
"immunocompromised"
"ethnicity"
"race"
"gender"
"age"
"poverty"
"low income"
"low-income"
"infection"
"transmission"
"nursing homes"
"elderly"
"long-term care facilities"
"long term care facilities"
"long-term care facility"
"long term care facility"
"LTC facilities"
"LTC facility"
"residential settings"
"skilled nursing facilities"
"group homes"
"assisted living"
"adult day care"
"adult foster care"
"continuing care retirement communities"
"memory care units"
"CCRC"
"respite care"
"villages"
"resident"
"older adults"
"children"
"schools"
"school"
"business closures"
"business reopening"
"school closures"
"remote learning"
"virtual learning"
"congregate settings"
"management"
"public health"
"public policy"
"public health policy"
"policy"
"guidance"
"recommendations"
"scientific"
"medical"
"model"
"statistics"
"data"
"research"
"infection prevention"
"mitigation"
"mitigate"
"control"
"infection prevention and control"
"IPC"
"PPE"
"personal protective equipment"
"work exclusion considerations"
"shelter-in-place"
"shelter in place"
"quarantine"
"HCP"
"health care personnel"
"healthcare personnel"
"underlying chronic medical conditions"
"underlying medical conditions"
"environmental cleaning and disinfection"
"source control"
"physical distancing"
"social distancing"
"visitation"
"masks"
"testing"
"symptoms"
"asymptomatic"
"dedicated space"
"COVID-19 care unit"
"care unit"
"airborne infection isolation room"
"AIIR"
"single-person room"
"monitoring"
"close contact"
"fever"
"nursing home onset"
"nursing home-onset"
"respiratory specimens"
"viral testing"
"nucleic acid amplification tests"
"antigen detection assays"
"diagnostic testing"
"isolation"
"cohorting"
"cohort"
"test-based strategy"
"symptom-based strategy"
"reopening"
"reopen"
"re-open"
"transmission-based precautions"
"healthcare goals"
"public health coordination"
"physician"
"infectious disease"
"expert"
"epidemiology"
"epidemiologist"
"population"
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
- Erin
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hi Mark,
Please include the following keywords (separately -- not all together) in your search:
"COVID-19"
"SARS-CoV-2"
"severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2"
"coronavirus"
"human coronavirus 2019"
"Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 "
"2019 novel coronavirus"
"2019-nCoV"
"HCoV-19"
"hCoV-19"
"SARSr-CoV"
"cases"
"deaths"
"at-risk communities"
"at risk communities"
"uninsured communities"
"at-risk"
"at risk"
"high risk"
"immunocompromised"
"ethnicity"
"race"
"gender"
"age"
"poverty"
"low income"
"low-income"
"infection"
"transmission"
"nursing homes"
"elderly"
"long-term care facilities"
"long term care facilities"
"long-term care facility"
"long term care facility"
"LTC facilities"
"LTC facility"
"residential settings"
"skilled nursing facilities"
"group homes"
"assisted living"
"adult day care"
"adult foster care"
"continuing care retirement communities"
"memory care units"
"CCRC"
"respite care"
"villages"
"resident"
"older adults"
"children"
"schools"
"school"
"business closures"
"business reopening"
"school closures"
"remote learning"
"virtual learning"
"congregate settings"
"management"
"public health"
"public policy"
"public health policy"
"policy"
"guidance"
"recommendations"
"scientific"
"medical"
"model"
"statistics"
"data"
"research"
"infection prevention"
"mitigation"
"mitigate"
"control"
"infection prevention and control"
"IPC"
"PPE"
"personal protective equipment"
"work exclusion considerations"
"shelter-in-place"
"shelter in place"
"quarantine"
"HCP"
"health care personnel"
"healthcare personnel"
"underlying chronic medical conditions"
"underlying medical conditions"
"environmental cleaning and disinfection"
"source control"
"physical distancing"
"social distancing"
"visitation"
"masks"
"testing"
"symptoms"
"asymptomatic"
"dedicated space"
"COVID-19 care unit"
"care unit"
"airborne infection isolation room"
"AIIR"
"single-person room"
"monitoring"
"close contact"
"fever"
"nursing home onset"
"nursing home-onset"
"respiratory specimens"
"viral testing"
"nucleic acid amplification tests"
"antigen detection assays"
"diagnostic testing"
"isolation"
"cohorting"
"cohort"
"test-based strategy"
"symptom-based strategy"
"reopening"
"reopen"
"re-open"
"transmission-based precautions"
"healthcare goals"
"public health coordination"
"physician"
"infectious disease"
"expert"
"epidemiology"
"epidemiologist"
"population"
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
- Erin
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Hi,
This is not a sufficient narrowing. You have enormously expanded your search by adding 131 additional search terms and many of those new 131 terms are just as ubiquitous as “COVID-19”. You also failed to narrow your time frame or provide a set of smaller time frames as requested. Please provide a sufficient narrowing by the date in the attached August 10th letter.
Thanks.
-
Results2
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hi Mark,
In your letter, you stated: "To assist the agency, locate the records you are requesting, we need you to provide the following additional information: a more specific topic or search terms than 'COVID-19.'" You also wrote, "We need you to specify a topic or search terms and a more narrow or specified set of time frames."
I specified the additional search terms, exactly as you requested in your letter.
Since the 14-month range I specified in my original request apparently wasn't narrow enough, let's go with a date range of 11/1/2019 to 6/1/2020.
In my original request, I provided your agency with a specific set of email addresses (contained in an Excel file attached to my request) AND provided the search term "COVID-19" AND provided a specific time range. That information should have been enough for your agency to fulfill my original request.
I will be happy to file an appeal if necessary. Please let me know if that should be my next step.
Thanks,
Erin
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hi Mark,
Just to follow up once more, the search terms and email addresses I included in my request (both in my original request and the revisions I sent at your request) should be searchable in what is known as an "enterprise search" -- your staff should be able to use the parameters I provided in conjunction with deduplication and containment tools.
For more information about the FOIA search capabilities, tools, and techniques available to the CDC, please refer to "Recap: Recent OGIS/CDC Webinar on Enterprise Searching," which was a recent webinar for CDC FOIA officials. You can view the webinar and transcripts here: https://foia.blogs.archives.gov/2021/05/27/recap-recent-ogis-cdc-webinar-on-enterprise-searching/
Thanks,
Erin
From: Erin Marie Miller
Hi Mark,
One last message. If it helps, feel free to suggest keywords for me. I think it's obvious from the search terms I provided, but I am specifically looking for public policy guidance related to COVID-19 that was provided to the MDHHS by the CDC.
In an earlier FOIA request to the CDC (#21-01006-FOIA), I requested the scientific models and data that were provided to Mr. Gordon and our state's governor for policy-making decisions related to COVID-19. That request resulted in a letter from the CDC stating that there were no responsive documents related to my request. I find that hard to believe, so I am looking for another way to access that information. You can view the response for that request here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21030980-21-01006-foia_final-response-no-records
If you can offer any guidance or recommendations for search terms that would help me locate the records I'm seeking, I would be grateful for your help.
Thanks,
Erin
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Thanks Ms. Miller. Your request is still too broad and vague. De-duplication and containment are only helpful once a reasonable request with a reasonable scope is agreed upon. Please note the OGIS article provides the information below which is pertinent to your request with 131 search terms and an open-ended Michigan Health Department email domain. You indicate you generally seek policy guidance CDC provided to the Michigan Department of Health related to COVID-19. Any time CDC is communicating with a state about the panoply of issues COVId-19 has raised, it likely involves guidance to some degree.
* Cut from https://foia.blogs.archives.gov/2021/05/27/recap-recent-ogis-cdc-webinar-on-enterprise-searching/
CDC FOIA staff offered the following tips to ensure successful enterprise search results:
· Have a well-defined scope and be precise in what you seek. Split searches into different line items and explain where you expect keywords to appear (subject; body; within so many words of a specific key phrase).
· Limit keywords or suggest phrase searching. Keep in mind that the keywords you suggest may be different than those used by agency staff. The context of the records you seek is often more helpful than keywords. Numerous and generic keywords will dilute search results.
· When possible, limit the number of custodians, the timespan, and type of responsive records. Currently, the agency is unable to conduct enterprise searches for large groups of people, and providing numerous custodians will complicate the search. If you are unsure which custodians may have the records you seek, CDC FOIA staff will consult with CDC subject matter experts to obtain additional context for the records.
· Discuss the scope of your request with the FOIA Public Liaison (FPL) and analyst assigned to your request, and be up front as to what you seek. For example, if you do not want attachments, let the analyst or FPL know so those records can be excluded from the responsive records.
-
Results2
From: Erin Marie Miller
Thank you for clarifying.
As far as defining the scope, I'm looking for records related to policy guidance and/or recommendations for the following subjects:
1. Infection control in long-term care facilities and nursing homes;
2. Business closures;
3. School closures.
Again, we can go with a time frame of 11/1/2019 to 6/1/2020.
As far as narrowing down the email addresses, please search for emails sent from CDC staff to the following people:
- Robert Gordon: GordonR3@michigan.gov.
- Gretchen Whitmer: WhitmerG1@michigan.gov
- Mark Totten: TottenM1@michigan.gov
- Dana Nessel: dananessel@gmail.com, miag@michigan.gov
- Elizabeth Hertel: HertelE@michigan.gov
- Tricia Foster: FosterT13@michigan.gov
- Joanna Huls: HulsJ1@michigan.gov
Please make sure to include attachments to those emails.
Please let me know if the new parameters above will work for you.
Thank you,
Erin
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Thanks. We are almost there. The following are the CDC emails I could find in the densely populated excel table. Please confirm that these are the CDC emails we should use for the search:
eocevent424@cdc.gov
eocsctfops@cdc.gov
zmo2@cdc.gov
eocsctfops@cdc.gov
dbj0@cdc.gov,
acs1@cdc.gov,
jcb3@cdc.gov,
scr1@cdc.gov
eocevent382@cdc.gov<mailto:eocevent382@cdc.gov>
Thanks.
Mark Harper
-
Results2
From: Erin Marie Miller
Thanks. Your list looks good, but please also include the following email address:
Thanks so much!
- Erin
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Thanks. Please confirm the scope.
Public policy guidance on COVID-19 and Infection control in long-term care facilities and nursing homes or Business closures or School closures that was provided to the MDHHS by the CDC
* From the email boxes of
vfw8@cdc.gov<mailto:vfw8@cdc.gov>
eocevent424@cdc.gov<mailto:eocevent424@cdc.gov>
eocsctfops@cdc.gov<mailto:eocsctfops@cdc.gov>
zmo2@cdc.gov<mailto:zmo2@cdc.gov>
eocsctfops@cdc.gov<mailto:eocsctfops@cdc.gov>
dbj0@cdc.gov<mailto:dbj0@cdc.gov>,
acs1@cdc.gov<mailto:acs1@cdc.gov>,
jcb3@cdc.gov<mailto:jcb3@cdc.gov>,
scr1@cdc.gov<mailto:scr1@cdc.gov>
eocevent382@cdc.gov<mailto:eocevent382@cdc.gov%3cmailto:eocevent382@cdc.gov>
* Provided to
-Robert Gordon: GordonR3@michigan.gov<mailto:GordonR3@michigan.gov>.
- Gretchen Whitmer: WhitmerG1@michigan.gov<mailto:WhitmerG1@michigan.gov>
- Mark Totten: TottenM1@michigan.gov<mailto:TottenM1@michigan.gov>
- Dana Nessel: dananessel@gmail.com<mailto:dananessel@gmail.com>, miag@michigan.gov<mailto:miag@michigan.gov>
- Elizabeth Hertel: HertelE@michigan.gov<mailto:HertelE@michigan.gov>
- Tricia Foster: FosterT13@michigan.gov<mailto:FosterT13@michigan.gov>
- Joanna Huls: HulsJ1@michigan.gov<mailto:HulsJ1@michigan.gov>
* Time frame of 11/1/2019 to 6/1/2020.
-
~WRD0000
From: Erin Marie Miller
Scope looks good -- thank you, again!
From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
September 14, 2021
Request Number: 21-01738-FOIA
Dear Ms. Miller: This is regarding your original Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of August 5, 2021, for To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:- All correspondence including emails, faxes, text messages, and physical documents between CDC staff and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services former director Robert Gordon’s office between the dates of 11/1/2019 and 1/22/2021 related to COVID-19.Mr. Gordon’s email address is GordonR3@michigan.gov.There may be other email addresses associated with Mr. Gordon, so you should reach out to his office to confirm all of the email addresses that were used to communicate about COVID-19 during the aforementioned date range while you are in the process of locating the requested records. Please also make sure to check filing cabinets for physical documents like printed letters and faxes.To assist you in your search, I have attached a spreadsheet of CDC staff email addresses that corresponded with Mr. Gordon during the requested time period. This spreadsheet was provided to me by MDHHS through a separate FOIA request.The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.In order to help determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been regularly published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism.Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest. Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, I request a waiver of all fees.?In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. If a fee waiver is not granted, I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If the fee for this request exceeds this amount, please notify me in writing prior to beginning work on the request.I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.Please feel free to contact me directly with any additional questions.Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.Sincerely,Erin Marie Miller (Date Range for Record Search: From 11/01/2019 To 01/22/2021).
Please see the attached letter.
Sincerely,
CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office
770-488-6399
-
RE_ Freedom of Information Act Request #21-01738-FOIA
Files
pages