Question

2. Short-response prompt (15 points)

Read the following excerpt from the article "What a Bad Flu Season Could Cost the US Economy":
Creating a flu vaccine is a bit of a guessing game, because the shots take
months to manufacture. Each year in February, the World Health Organization
(WHO) tries to predict what viruses may be circulating the following winter, a
process that can change as bugs mutate. The current variant strains weren't
detected until March and weren't found in large numbers before September, CDC
Director Tom Frieden told reporters last week. "This is not something that's been
around before," he said.
Based on the cues you can see in the excerpt (that is, without doing further research), how would you
rate credibility of the passage? Write a short argument stating whether or not the information seems
credible and objective. You are writing an argument, so be sure to include a thesis statement and at
least one counter-argument. Use specific details from the passage to support your answer.

Answer 1

Thesis statement: Based on the details in the excerpt, the information appears credible and objective.

Evidence to support credibility:

- The passage provides specific details about the process of creating a flu vaccine, including the fact that it takes months to manufacture and that the World Health Organization tries to predict what viruses may be circulating the following winter.

- The passage also includes a quote from CDC Director Tom Frieden, who provides specific information about when the current variant strains were detected and found in large numbers.

Counter-argument:

Some might argue that the passage is not entirely objective because it includes a quote from Tom Frieden, who is a government official and may have a vested interest in promoting certain viewpoints or policies.

Response:

While it's true that Tom Frieden is a government official, his quote in the passage is not advocating for any particular policy or viewpoint. Instead, he is simply providing factual information about when the current variant strains were detected and found in large numbers. Furthermore, the passage as a whole provides specific and detailed information about the process of creating a flu vaccine and the challenges involved in predicting which viruses will be circulating in a given year. Overall, the information in the passage appears credible and objective.

Answer 2

Thesis statement: Based on the information presented in the excerpt, the passage appears to be credible and objective.

The passage provides information about the process of creating flu vaccines and the challenges involved in predicting the strains of viruses that will circulate in the following winter. The author cites the World Health Organization (WHO) as the organization responsible for predicting these strains, and acknowledges that the process can be affected by mutations in the viruses.

This information appears credible, as it is based on the statements of a reputable source, the CDC Director Tom Frieden, and acknowledges the uncertainties involved in predicting flu strains. Additionally, the passage provides specific details about the timing of the detection of the current variant strains, which suggests that the author has done research to support their claims.

One counter-argument to the credibility of the passage might be that it does not provide enough information to fully evaluate the claims being made. For example, the passage does not provide information about the methodology used by the WHO to predict flu strains, or the degree of accuracy of these predictions in previous years. Without this additional information, it is difficult to fully evaluate the credibility of the claims being made.

Overall, however, based on the information presented in the excerpt, the passage appears to be credible and objective. The author cites reputable sources, provides specific details to support their claims, and acknowledges the uncertainties involved in predicting flu strains.