CDC Coronavirus Self-Checker

I previously wrote about Apple’s COVID-19 screening tool which was developed in partnership with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around the same time, the CDC released its own Coronavirus Self-Checker which serves a purpose that is similar to Apple’s screening tool. Similar to Apple’s screening tool, the CDC Coronavirus Self-Checker asks questions about symptoms and sick contacts. However, there are a few differences.

First, the CDC tool is only available via the web, while the Apple screening tool is available via web and an iOS app. The CDC does offer a CDC iOS app, but the Coronavirus Self-Checker is not available in the CDC app (at least as of today).

Second, there are usability issues in the CDC self-checker. For example, one question that is asked is, “Do you/they have any of the following? (check any)” where there are response options for fever, shortness of breath, cough, and other. However, all of those are affirmative responses. There is no option for “none of the above” or a negative response, nor does the self-checker allow you to continue to the next question unless you select one of the affirmative responses.

Third, the CDC app is ostensibly run by a bot named Clara, while the Apple screening tool is less pretentious and gets straight to the point of asking questions and providing recommendations. Sorry Clara, it’s nothing against you personally, but your “presence” contributes nothing to my user experience and feels unnecessary.

So in summary, I think Apple’s implementation of the COVID-19 screening tool is better in many ways than the CDC coronavirus self-checker, but they are both free, and it’s a great public service that they developed and made available for general consumption. Regardless of which one people use, I think the main point is that they are used and can help improve the triage of patients and potentially enable healthcare professionals to focus their time and efforts on the sickest patients who are in greatest need of help.