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• COVID-19 Efforts to Increase Vaccine Availability and Perspectives on Initial Implementation, Report to Congressional Addressees

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  From the Highlights: "Providing the public with safe and effective vaccines to prevent COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 19] is crucial to mitigating the public health and economic impacts of the disease. The U.S. had almost 30 million reported cases and over 545,000 reported deaths as of March 27, 2021. The federal government took a critical step in December 2020 in authorizing the first two COVID-19 vaccines and beginning distribution of doses across the nation. The government had distributed about 180.6 million vaccine doses, and about 147.8 million doses had been administered, as of March 27, 2021, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. [...] GAO [Government Accountability Office] reviewed documents from the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services, transcripts of public briefings, data from CDC, and interviewed or received written responses from federal officials, vaccine company representatives, and select public health stakeholders. GAO incorporated technical comments from the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as appropriate."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2021-04
• COVID-19 Binational Dashboard

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  This resource is sponsored by DHS' Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office and hosted by the Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense Center of Excellence. It contains information on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positivity rate and a summary of cases (confirmed, deaths, and tests) for the U.S. and Mexico.

  Texas A&M University
• US Employment Inequality in the Great Recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  From the Abstract: "This article compares inequality in US employment across social groups in the Great Recession and the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. We develop an inequality measure that captures both how much employment declines during a recession and the persistence of those declines. The results show a significant shift of job loss from men in the Great Recession to women in the COVID-19 lockdown. White workers fare better than other racial/ethnic groups in both recessions. Black and Hispanic women are hit especially hard in the COVID-19 pandemic. With our job loss measure, less educated workers had modestly worse outcomes in the Great Recession. However, during COVID-19, less educated workers suffer much more severe employment consequences than more educated groups. We discuss long-term effects of employment inequality and how these findings are relevant to debates about policy responses."

  Institute for New Economic Thinking

  Fazzari, Steven M.; Needler, Ella

  2021-03-31
• Covid-19 and Cyber Risk in the Financial Sector

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  From the Document: "During the Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, financial institutions have been at the leading edge of the response to cyber risk. Their already large exposure to cyber risk has been further accentuated by the move towards more working from home (WFH) and other operational challenges. This Bulletin serves as a primer on cyber risk and presents initial findings on how the financial sector has met the challenges of the pandemic. We draw on new data to assess changes in the threat landscape for financial institutions in the pandemic."

  Bank for International Settlements

  Aldasoro, Iñaki; Frost, Jon; Gambacorta, Leonardo . . .

  2021-01-14
• COVID-19 Mental Health Handbook: Evidence-Informed Approaches to Mental Wellbeing During a Pandemic

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  From the Introduction: "The Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19, as it has become known, is a pandemic of proportion and nuance this era had not previously seen. Thanks to modern advances in technology, medicine, communication, infrastructure, and so many more sectors, we have been equipped to adapt to the changes COVID-19 demands of us. But despite these advancements and ingenuities, we are still human. And human beings have emotions, thoughts, experiences, worldviews--all things that affect our experience of this current pandemic. Infectious diseases very obviously impact our physical health. But as has become clear over the past few months, they also affect our mental health. [...] Coming from many countries, many cultures, and many backgrounds, the authors and interviewees in the pages hereafter provide important insights into the COVID-19 mental health situation. Composed of ten overall sections, this handbook covers a range of topics that live at the intersection of COVID-19 and mental health. [...] Altogether, these ten sections help bring to attention the myriad mental health needs COVID-19 has brought to the surface while also suggesting ways to cope, move forward, and become more resilient. Explore some of the most important and recent research and insights from great researchers around the world. Hopefully, with this handbook, you will be better equipped to handle COVID-19 and help others as they grasp this ever-changing world around us."

  Wheaton College (Ill.). Humanitarian Disaster Institute

  Aten, Jamie D.; Annan, Kent, 1973-; Meeker, Jack

  2020
• Indian Education: Schools Need More Assistance to Provide Distance Learning, Statement of Melissa Emrey-Arras, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Testimony Before the Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate

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  From the Highlights: "BIE's [Bureau of Indian Education] mission is to provide quality education to approximately 41,000 students at 183 schools it funds on or near Indian reservations in 23 states. About two-thirds of these schools are operated by tribes and the remaining third are operated by BIE. In March 2020, all BIE schools closed their buildings in response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. GAO [Government Accountability Office] reviewed distance learning at BIE schools as part of its oversight responsibilities under the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act. This testimony examines the extent to which (1) BIE has provided schools with guidance to develop and implement distance learning programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) students have had the technology they need to participate in such programs."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  Emrey-Arras, Melissa

  2021-04-28
• Laying the Foundations of DPRK Energy Security: 1990-2020 Energy Balances, Engagement Options, and Future Paths for Energy and Economic Redevelopment

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  From the Executive Summary: "The purpose of this report is to provide policymakers and other interested parties with an overview of the evolution of demand for and supply of energy in the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the last three decades. [...] Building on previous energy balances prepared for 1990, 1996, 2000, and 2005, 2008 through 2010, and 2014, the authors assembled information from as many data sources as possible to update our earlier work and to provide estimates of recent-year energy supply and demand in the DPRK. Somewhat revised results of the 1990, and 1996 energy balances, which provide the underpinnings of our updated DPRK energy sector analysis, as well as a detailed description of input parameters and assumptions used in the analytical process, are presented in Chapter 2 of the Report that follows."

  Nautilus Institute

  von Hippel, David; Hayes, Peter, 1953-

  2021-04
• Reopening California: Seeking Robust, Non-Dominated COVID-19 Exit Strategies

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  From the Abstract: "Amid global scarcity of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines and the threat of new variant strains, California and other jurisdictions face the question of when and how to implement and relax COVID-19 Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs). While policymakers have attempted to balance the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, decentralized decision-making, deep uncertainty, and the lack of widespread use of comprehensive decision support methods can lead to the choice of fragile or inefficient strategies. This paper uses simulation models and the Robust Decision Making (RDM) approach to stress-test California's reopening strategy and other alternatives over a wide range of futures. We find that plans which respond aggressively to initial outbreaks are required to robustly control the pandemic. Further, the best plans adapt to changing circumstances, lowering their stringent requirements to reopen over time or as more constituents are vaccinated. While we use California as an example, our results are particularly relevant for jurisdictions where vaccination roll-out has been slower."

  RAND Corporation

  Nascimento de Lima, Pedro; Lempert, Robert J.; Vardavas, Raffaele . . .

  2021-04
• Battling the Invisible Enemy: The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate's COVID-19 Response

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  From the Document: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic is a global threat with life and death consequences. The enormity of the situation is something many of us have never seen before. It is also a scientific challenge in need of innovative solutions--something quite familiar to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). S&T was built to take on complex issues of vital importance. It is our mission to enable effective, efficient, and secure operations across the homeland security enterprise and we're certainly not backing down now. We're using every tool at our disposal and calling on every member of our dedicated workforce to join the fight. For many, that means full-time teleworking from home, supporting continuity of operations in this time of crisis. For others, it means using research and development expertise to battle this invisible enemy directly. Our rigorous research and development efforts are bolstered through close collaboration across S&T, our fellow DHS components, other U.S. federal agencies, and our international partners around the world. S&T's research laboratories, centers of excellence, and federally funded research and development centers are sharply focused on COVID-19, with diverse projects underway analyzing various aspects of the pandemic. We're looking at the actual virus and studying its characteristics to better understand infection and transmission. We're investigating effective public health policies to help slow the spread."

  United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate

  2020-07-09?
• Global Futures Report: Alternative Futures of Geopolitical Competition in a Post-COVID-19 World

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  From the Introduction: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic sheds an important light on the criticality of futures-based thinking to move us beyond conventional assumptions and positions. In today's chaotic cycle of rapid change, growing complexity, and radical uncertainty, the national security establishment must develop the skills and flexibility to adapt to the unexpected. To be sure, the fallout from COVID-19 has revealed overlooked vulnerabilities for our supply chains, our society, our economy, and--most pertinent for this report-- our national security strategy, 'which relies on all three.' The primary aim of this report is to disrupt how we conceptualize national security futures. Rather than arrive at 'definitive' conclusions or prescribe budgetary, policy, or force structure recommendations, this document instead challenges us to consider how the future can defy accepted probabilities to affect the Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force."

  United States. Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability

  Sotiriadis, Jake; Grove, Jairus Victor, 1978-; Cunzeman, Kara C. . . .

  2020-06
• Housing Insecurity and the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  From the Executive Summary: "In 2020, those who have fallen behind at least three months on their mortgage increased 250 percent to over 2 million households, and is now at a level not seen since the height of the Great Recession in 2010. Collectively, these households are estimated to owe almost $90 billion in deferred principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments. At the same time, we are facing a rental crisis, with over 8 million rental households behind in their rent. While there are significant differences from the last crisis, particularly a more stable mortgage market and substantial homeowner equity, there are a significant number of households at risk of losing their housing just as the U.S. economy is poised to emerge from the pandemic--a disproportionate number of them from communities of color. This report summarizes some of the relevant data and research on the impact of the pandemic on the rental and mortgage market, and particularly its impact on low income and minority households."

  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  Wong, Kristin

  2021-03
• Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response: Hybrid Hearing Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, September 22, 2020

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  This is the September 22, 2020 hearing on "Oversight of the Treasury Department's and the Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response," held before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. From the opening statement of Maxine Waters: "Nearly 200,000 people in the United States have lost their lives to the coronavirus, and there have been over 6.8 million U.S. cases. Millions of families are struggling to make ends meet during this crisis and are on the verge of eviction. Over a million small businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy, have shut their doors as families across the country are looking to Washington for leadership. [...] I am very concerned that much of the $500 billion Congress allocated in the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act to Treasury, most of which was to support Federal Reserve lending, to help reeling businesses, nonprofits, and State and local governments, has gone unused. Here we are almost 6 months after the passage of the CARES Act and a mere 0.2 percent of Main Street Lending Program funds and 0.3 of Municipal Liquidity Facility funds have been put to use. This is unacceptable. Secretary Mnuchin, Chair Powell, let me be blunt. This pandemic response has fallen badly short, and the Trump Administration has sabotaged efforts to pass a relief package or address the major public health and economic crisis we face. Your work to address this crisis doesn't stop when the stock market recovers from its losses. Your mandate is to help hardworking individuals and families who are suffering." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Steven T. Mnuchin and Jerome H. Powell.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2021
• Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Beyond the WHO's Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator

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  From the Abstract: "The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a Solidarity Call to Action for equitable global access to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] health technologies by pooling data and intellectual property, with the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) being a primary component of the response. While innovative, this response plan is, however, inadequate. Hence, we propose a new APT-A (Access to Pandemic Tools Accelerator) that provides more funding for diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, equitable access, and basic health systems and includes two other pillars or workstreams--one for economic assistance in pandemic times and another to combat structural inequalities. As part of this buttressed response to adequately prepare for and respond to pandemics in our globalized world, we propose a permanent, improved version of COVAX [COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access pillar] called POVAX (Pandemic Open Vaccine Access Accelerator), which requires 1) implementing alternative reward mechanisms for new vaccines, 2) companies to pool intellectual property and other data to speed up research and 3) allow low-cost generic production, as well as measures to 4) ensure equitable distribution of resulting products."

  Brookings Institution. Global Economy and Development

  Basu, Kaushik; Gostin, Lawrence; Hassoun, Nicole

  2021-04
• Understanding Vulnerability to Online Misinformation

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  From the Overview: "Health-related misinformation risks exacerbating the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] public health crisis if it leads the public to refuse treatment when needed, not follow official guidance, such as policies on social distancing and mask-wearing, or even to use harmful 'miracle' cures. If left unchecked, misinformation could seriously undermine the vaccine rollout and heighten people's anxiety and mistrust during this time of national stress. Several large-scale research projects have started during the crisis with the aim of understanding the nature, prevalence and spread of health-related misinformation online. However, relatively little is known about who is vulnerable to believing false information and why. This is crucial for developing more targeted and effective interventions which tackle the root causes of misinformation rather than just its symptoms. To address this gap, researchers from The Alan Turing Institute's public policy programme have conducted original research using a survey and assessments to understand (1) which individuals are most vulnerable to believing health-related falsities and (2) the role played by the content that individuals are exposed to."

  Alan Turing Institute

  Vidgen, Bertie; Taylor, Harry; Pantazi, Myrto . . .

  2021-03
• Race and Hispanic-Origin Disparities in Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with Severe COVID-19 Illness: U.S. Adults, 2015-2018

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  From the Abstract: "This report calculates the prevalence of selected conditions by race and Hispanic origin among U.S. adults (aged 20 and over) during 2015-2018. [...] Interview, physical examination, and laboratory data were used from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Conditions included asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease based on self-report; and obesity, severe obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, smoking, and hypertension based on physical measurements. Estimates accounted for survey design. [...] Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic adults had a disproportionate burden of some conditions, including obesity and diabetes. Understanding populations at highest risk for severe coronavirus disease 2019-related illness could help inform prevention strategies."

  United States. Department of Health and Human Services

  Kim, Christine; Stierman, Bryan; Hales, Craig M. . . .

  2021-04-28
• COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020

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  From the Executive Summary: "The year 2020 was a landmark for human mobility, with dramatically reduced cross-border movements of all kinds. The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic decimated tourism and business travel; severely curtailed labour migration; and dampened movement of all stripes, from that of international students to family reunification. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been tracking the surge in travel restrictions, border closures and health-related travel requirements imposed by governments since the onset of the pandemic. This report, produced through collaboration between the IOM and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), marks the first comprehensive analysis of these data to understand how the pandemic has reshaped border management and human mobility - and what the lasting ramifications may be throughout 2021 and beyond. While the overall picture of human mobility in 2020 is of movement dramatically curtailed, the picture varies over time and by region. This reflects the diverse range of strategies employed to minimize cross-border mobility and step up the screening of travellers to reduce the spread of the virus."

  Migration Policy Institute; International Organization for Migration

  Benton, Meghan; Batalova, Jeanne, 1974-; Davidoff-Gore, Samuel . . .

  2021-04
• Behavioral Health: Patient Access, Provider Claims Payment, and the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  From the Document: "This report describes: (1) what is known about the need for and availability of behavioral health services, and how these have changed during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic; and (2) what issues selected stakeholders identified regarding the payment of claims for behavioral health services. To examine what is known about the need for and availability of behavioral health services and how they have changed during the pandemic, we reviewed relevant survey data and analyses. Specifically, we reviewed data from Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the Household Pulse Survey through February 15, 2021, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics, which includes questions on the frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms. We assessed the reliability of these data by reviewing relevant agency documentation and written information from agency officials and by checking for obvious errors. We determined that these data were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of describing reported effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on behavioral health symptoms and demand for treatment."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2021-03-31
• Strategies for Reaching Populations with Limited Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

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  From the Document: "This document outlines practices that were reported during jurisdictional listening sessions conducted in February and March 2021 with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Vaccine Task Force. These listening sessions focused on how to leverage relationships with existing systems to reach populations who might need help accessing COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccination. The strategies outlined in this document are not formal recommendations from CDC but strategies used by jurisdictions to schedule appointments, arrange transportation, vaccinate caregivers, address vaccine hesitancy, identify people who are homebound, and reach people who are homebound for in-home vaccination. Strategies reported by jurisdictions are listed as broad considerations so jurisdictions can consider adaptations that could work in their communities."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-04-21
• Housing Funding in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 [March 31, 2021]

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  From the Document: "According to Census data from late February 2021, nearly 19% of renters [hyperlink] and more than 10% of homeowners with a mortgage [hyperlink] reported having fallen behind in their housing payments during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In response, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. [public law] 117-2), enacted in mid-March 2021, included nearly $43 billion in mandatory funding for housing-related programs intended to assist people experiencing housing instability and homelessness. (In addition to funding housing programs, ARPA provided cash to individuals [e.g., individual relief payments, refundable tax credits, and enhanced unemployment benefits] that may also help families pay their housing costs.) [...] Funded programs include those developed specifically to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., the Emergency Rental Assistance program and Homeowner Assistance Fund), as well as existing programs. In some cases, ARPA directed that funding provided through existing programs be used in new ways to serve people experiencing homelessness (e.g., Emergency Housing Vouchers and HOME [Home Investment Partnerships Program] funds); in other cases, the funds are to be used to respond to the pandemic largely within existing program parameters (e.g., Native American and rural housing programs). This Insight includes a funding table followed by a list of each program funded and a brief description of how funds can be used."

  Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

  Jones, Katie; Perl, Libby; McCarty, Maggie

  2021-03-31
• Has Hunger Swelled?

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  From the Executive Summary: "The coronavirus pandemic threatened to increase hardship among US households after efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] through pervasive social distancing and the declaration of a national emergency in March. Economic activity dramatically diminished, and unemployment initially soared. While federal policymakers acted quickly to shore up the safety net, researchers have argued that food hardship spiked in late March and April and then remained elevated. Claims that food hardship has tripled or worse have led to calls for equally unprecedented expansions to safety-net programs. This report shows that such claims are unsupported and result from researchers comparing recent survey estimates to earlier ones from incomparable surveys. We estimate that food insufficiency has increased by 2 or 3 percentage points and stands a bit higher than during the Great Recession. Policymakers' efforts to mitigate hardship have been more successful than critics acknowledge, and future decisions should not assume that hardship is as severe as studies have suggested."

  American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

  Winship, Scott Robert; Rachidi, Angela

  2020-10
• Extortion in Central America: Gender, Micro-Trafficking and Panama

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  From the Summary: "Gangs and criminal organizations in Central America continue to seek means of adapting to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] while communities look to build resilience to its effects. The aim of this report is to contribute to the understanding of extortion in an evolving context as pandemic-related mobility restrictions are enforced and lifted in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. The report identifies the evolving role of women in gang schemes and dynamics; explores criminal structures in Panama and their relationship with extortion; and highlights trends among extortion practices as they shift to other criminal activities such as large-scale and local trafficking of cannabis and cocaine."

  Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

  Vázquez del Mercado, Guillermo; Félix, Luis; Carballo, Gerardo

  2021-04
• Policy Recommendations to Improve the Protection and Care for Unaccompanied Children

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  From the Document: "Thousands of refugee and immigrant children come to the United States alone or with their families each year, many having fled life-threatening dangers in their countries of origin. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, more than 69,000 unaccompanied children entered the custody of the U.S. federal government. Unaccompanied children (UCs) are under 18 years old, have no legal immigration status, and arrive in the United States without a parent or legal guardian to provide care and custody. [...] The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has presented tremendous challenges to the health and safety of unaccompanied children in the United States--challenges that will continue in the medium term. [...] As the United States proceeds with COVID-19 vaccinations and enters a new phase, an unusual opportunity has emerged to accomplish three key goals at once. First, the United States can respond to a public-health crisis while drawing on the critical lessons of the pandemic, and with the high standards that the United States can afford. Second, the United States can address needs that predate the pandemic by improving coordination, transparency, and UC outcomes across the system of UC care. Finally, the United States can take proactive measures that help ORR [Office of Refugee Resettlement] prepare for the next UC crisis, whenever it may occur."

  U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

  Bruzzone, Mario

  2021-02
• Ethical Aspects in the Testing of Anti-COVID-19 Vaccines

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  From the Introduction: "In the context of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, the increasingly predominant focus placed on the development of vaccines is driven by the widely shared opinion, among the scientific world, that vaccines are a necessary and crucial tool in the containment of the virus in the shortest possible time, with all the health, economic, and social benefits associated with a virus free world. This awareness has understandably generated pressure, on a global level, to speed up research and the testing of vaccines, posing urgent and important scientific and ethical challenges. The basic criteria of the ethics of clinical trials involve in particular scientific value and validity, balancing risks versus benefits, respect for persons, the primacy of the wellbeing of the individual over the interests of the advancement of knowledge, informed consent, fair selection of participants, and independent review. In addition to the issues that characterize every trial, the testing of vaccines presents additional problems deriving, for example, from the preventive, and not strictly therapeutic, purpose of the product under study. The COVID-19 pandemic, in turn, presents additional peculiarities compared to other situations, deriving in particular from the expectation, across the world, for an effective vaccine to be available as soon as possible: in the era of 'Vaccine hesitancy' there are now high expectations in COVID-19 vaccines, and the review of regulatory procedures for COVID-19 vaccine candidates occurs under intense clinical, economic, and political pressure."

  Istituto Superiore di Sanità

  Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabrina; Bellino, Stefania . . .

  2021-02-18
• NACo Toolkit: Tracking COVID-19 Relief for Human Services and Education Programs

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  From the Summary: "Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress has passed several relief packages offering hundreds of billions of dollars in supplemental funding for human services and education programs that matter to county governments. Additionally, Congress and the Trump and Biden administrations have authorized various flexibilities for the states and counties responsible for administering these programs. This toolkit tracks the steps the federal government has taken to implement new resources and administrative changes within human services and education programs authorized by: [1] 'The Families First Coronavirus Response Act' (FFCRA; PL [public law] 116-127); [2] 'Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act' (CARES Act; PL 116-136); [3] 'Continuing Appropriations Act of 2021' (PL 116-159); [4] 'Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021' (CRRSA, PL 116-260); [5] 'NEW! The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021' (ARP; PL 117-02)"

  National Association of Counties

  2021-04-20
• Status of the U.S. Maritime Supply Chain During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Remotely Attended Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, May 29, 2020

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  This is the May 29, 2020 hearing on "The Status of the U.S. Maritime Supply Chain During the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Pandemic," held before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. From the opening statement of Sean Patrick Maloney: "In a typical year, over $4.6 trillion worth of commerce flows through a maritime transportation system that is rapidly becoming more complex and interconnected. Unprecedented safety measures and a recent decrease in cargo, some of which began before the onset of the pandemic, will challenge the industry for months and years to come. My hope is that this hearing will help the committee better understand the difficulties facing the maritime industry and identify areas of support that may be needed to ensure the seamless movement of cargo and protect the associated maritime jobs." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Christopher J. Connor, Michael G. Roberts, Jennifer A. Carpenter, Lauren K. Brand, and Eric P. Ebeling.

  United States. Government Publishing Office

  2021
• Superspreaders of Malign and Subversive Information on COVID-19: Russian and Chinese Efforts Targeting the United States

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  From the Preface: "The global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) created a fertile ground for attempts to influence and destabilize different populations and countries. Both Russia and China appear to have employed information manipulation during the COVID-19 pandemic in service to their respective global agendas. This report uses exploratory qualitative analysis to systematically describe the types of COVID-19-related malign and subversive information efforts with which Russia- and China-associated outlets appear to have targeted U.S. audiences from January 2020 to July 2020 and organizes them into a framework. This work lays the foundation for a better understanding of how and whether Russia and China might act and coordinate in the domain of malign and subversive information efforts in the future. This is the first in a series of two reports, the second of which will use big data, computational linguistics, and machine learning to test findings and hypotheses generated by this report."

  RAND Corporation

  Matthews, Miriam (Behavioral scientist); Migacheva, Katya; Brown, Ryan Andrew

  2021
• Immigrant Essential Workers Are Crucial to America's COVID-19 Recovery

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  From the Overview: "Undocumented immigrant essential workers, and other individuals living with temporary status, face an uncertain future in the United States, particularly given the onslaught of executive orders and policy changes made by the outgoing Trump Administration. Some essential workers have temporary nonimmigrant visas or limited protection from deportation like DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] or TPS [Temporary Protected Status] [hyperlink], while most have no legal status [hyperlink] at all. Immigrant essential workers are indispensable; the United States continues to rely on them to fight the pandemic and contribute to a long-term recovery. Consequently, they should not be subject to deportation, but instead should be provided certainty over their future in the United States. By doing so, we would recognize the critical work that millions of immigrant essential workers perform every day, and thus secure all our futures. Congress must include ALL essential workers, including lawful permanent residents, immigrants with temporary status, and undocumented immigrants in future COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] legislation. This includes creating lawful permanent residence pathways [hyperlink] for ALL immigrant essential workers, regardless of their immigration status. Given their personal sacrifice during the pandemic, it is the least Congress and President-elect Biden can do in helping them fight the pandemic alongside all Americans."

  FWD.us

  2020-12
• Veterans Affairs: Use of Additional Funding for COVID-19 Relief, Report to Congressional Committees

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  From the Highlights: "As of April 14, 2021, VA [Veteran's Affairs] reported 224,538 cumulative veteran cases of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], and 11,366 deaths. The CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act included supplemental funding for COVID-19 relief, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, permitted VA additional flexibility to transfer these funds across the department. The CARES Act also included a provision for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to report on its ongoing monitoring and oversight efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This report examines 1) VA's obligations and expenditures of COVID-19 supplemental funding, as well as its plans to obligate remaining funds, and 2) how VA oversees the use of COVID-19 supplemental funds. GAO reviewed VA data on obligations, expenditures, and spend plans for COVID-19 supplemental funding, as well as contracting documentation and documentation on the processes and guidance VA developed to oversee the use of funds. GAO interviewed VA officials responsible for oversight of the supplemental funding, including officials from five regional networks, selected based on funding levels and geography, to gather information about their roles in overseeing the use of and accounting for supplemental funding."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2021-05
• Resetting Data Governance: Authorized Public Purpose Access and Society: Criteria for Implementation of APPA Principles

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  From the Executive Summary: "Data governance is the most pressing challenge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the field of healthcare, issues related to data governance, such as privacy, consent and the at times conflicting needs of individuals and society, are particularly acute. It is for this reason that the World Economic Forum has chosen healthcare as an entry point for addressing major issues on data governance: What is the desirable governance model for extracting value from personal information while handling that information with sufficient care? Establishing a data governance system for public health crises, including pandemics, could save lives while enhancing public trust in the use of data to further the public good. [...] As of April 2021, the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread around the world, with the number of infections and deaths still increasing. Strict curbs on travel and other public activity imposed immediately after the pandemic began helped to slow spread of the virus, allowing economic activity to resume. But the renewed activity soon led to a resurgence of infections, demonstrating the difficulty of managing the pandemic. Our team believes that a systematic and cross-national approach to handling personal information such as location and medical data is essential, not only to address the current crisis but to prepare for the next one. The approach will have to be widely trusted to ensure participation and compliance. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a data governance model that balances individual rights with the interests of data holders and the public interest."

  World Economic Forum

  Inoue, Yusuke; Okamoto, Masako; Fujita, Takanori . . .

  2021-04
• MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 5, 2021: Identification of and Surveillance for the SARS-CoV-2 Variants B.1.427 and B.1.429 -- Colorado, January-March 2021

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  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This early release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Identification of and Surveillance for the SARS-CoV-2 Variants B.1.427 and B.1.429 -- Colorado, January-March 2021." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-05-05