The last 20 months turned every dog into an amateur epidemiologist and statistician. Meanwhile, a group of bona fide epidemiologists and statisticians came to believe that pandemic problems might be more effectively solved by adopting the mindset of an engineer: that is, focusing on pragmatic problem-solving with an iterative, adaptive […]
Category: Coronavirus
Passengers couldn’t fly after NHS vaccine passport went offline
England’s COVID Pass system went offline for hours on Wednesday, causing British travelers to remain stranded at airports. Some passengers couldn’t board their flights, while others suffered delays as both the National Health Service (NHS) website and app experienced issues. Delays and missed flights An NHS system outage lasting approximately […]
The covid tech that is intimately tied to China’s surveillance state
Yet, while the speed and intention of this response to protect workers in the absence of an effective national-level US response was admirable, these Chinese companies are also tied up in forms of egregious human rights abuses. Dahua is one of the major providers of “smart camp” systems that Vera […]
This tech millionaire went from covid trial funder to misinformation superspreader
And while Morris believes that all claims about vaccine safety should be properly vetted—“Is it possible there’s another rare side effect of the vaccines that we haven’t figured out yet? Yeah, it’s possible,” he told me—he also says that he has regularly seen Kirsch manipulate evidence so that it seems […]
What you need to know about US vaccine proof on your phone
We’re keeping track of the covid vaccine apps rolling out in the US and some of the ways people can now prove they’re vaccinated. But there’s a lot of conflicting and confusing information, and a lot of developers are vying to provide the go-to solution. Here, we’ve gathered answers to […]
The pandemic is testing the limits of face recognition
More and more, it’s being used in what’s presented as the interest of public health. Australia recently expanded a program using facial recognition to enforce covid-19 safety precautions. People who are quarantining are subject to random check-ins, in which they’re required to send a selfie to confirm they are following […]
The pandemic problems that boosters won’t solve
But fully vaccinated healthy people in “high-risk” jobs, meaning that they have more chances of being exposed to the virus, aren’t necessarily at higher risk of getting sick even if they catch the virus. That’s the whole point of getting vaccinated —so you won’t get very sick even if you […]
The US is about to kickstart its controversial covid booster campaign
Disagreements: Booster shots have been controversial. A group of top scientists, including experts at the FDA and WHO, published a review in The Lancet on Monday arguing that booster shots are unnecessary since vaccines are still very effective at preventing severe disease and death. Furthermore, they say, vaccine supplies could […]
How these US schools reopened without sparking a covid outbreak
“Cleaning high-touch areas is very important in schools,” Cogan said. But mask-wearing, physical distancing, vaccinations, and other measures are “higher protective factors.” 8. Give agency to parents and teachers in protecting their kids. Last school year, many districts used temperature checks and symptom screenings as an attempt to catch infected […]
Pandemic tech left out public health experts. Here’s why that needs to change.
Susan Landau, a Tufts University professor in cybersecurity and computer science, is the author of People Count, a book on how and why contact tracing apps were built. She also published an essay in Science last week arguing that new technology to support public health should be thoroughly vetted for […]