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Telehealth Saves Money and Lives: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Introduction: "'Prior to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, few Americans could access telehealth to meet their health care needs. State and national lawmakers imposed enormous obstacles on patients seeking to virtually connect with their health care provider. Policymakers feared widespread telehealth use would increase spending on unnecessary health care services. As such, Medicare banned clinicians from delivering telehealth outside of rural communities and prohibited patients from receiving telehealth within their homes'. But that dynamic changed when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the United States, shutting down large parts of the economy and forcing families to stay home to reduce the spread of infection. [...] As a result, telehealth became a safe, reliable source of high-quality care for tens of millions of Americans during the pandemic. [...] The pandemic provides an opportunity to study the impact of the increasing use of telehealth services on health care outcomes and costs. [...] Our study confirms a promising trend toward cost savings for patients who use a combination of in-person and telehealth services. These results should give lawmakers confidence to extend the telehealth provisions of the public health emergency rather than letting them expire."
Progressive Policy Institute (U.S.)
Kane, Arielle; Katebi, Charlie; Subramanian, Maha
2021-11
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Borrowing Proven Policy Strategies to Vaccinate Kids Against COVID-19: Lessons from Past Successes Can Provide a Roadmap for Ensuring Equity in Immunization Efforts
From the Introduction: "With the authorization of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines for children ages five and older, focus is shifting to how the United States can deploy those shots widely and equitably. The country has yet to hone its approach to immunizing adults, as shown by low vaccination rates and persistent disparities in COVID-19 and other vaccines, such as flu shots. For vaccinating children against COVID-19, however, there is reason for optimism if policymakers and healthcare providers apply lessons from prior vaccination challenges and successes. The United States generally performs admirably in most children's immunizations, reaching more than 90 percent of kids for some vaccines, such as polio and chickenpox, and greatly reducing vaccination disparities in the past few decades. However, there also is cause for concern. For instance, disinformation and concerns about safety have made COVID-19 vaccines contentious for some people, and the United States has underperformed in the delivery of other similarly controversial vaccines."
State Health and Value Strategies { SHVS); State Health Access Data Assistance Center (Minn.)
2021-11
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Emergency Response: Changes in State Child Care Assistance Policies During the Pandemic
From the Introduction: "COVID [coronavirus disease] profoundly destabilized the already tenuous child care sector. During the early months of the pandemic, many child care programs were forced to close under state health and safety mandates. Programs that remained open or reopened during the crisis struggled with new health and safety protocols that increased costs. Many programs also saw a drop in enrollment as some parents had concerns about safety, and other parents decided not to use child care while they were working from home or unemployed. As a result, child care programs, which already had very tight margins prior to the pandemic, have experienced even more intense financial pressures during the pandemic."
National Women's Law Center
Schulman, Karen
2021-11
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Building Back Resilient: Strengthening Communities Through the COVID-19 Recovery
From the Executive Summary: "'This report aims to understand how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted social cohesion and integration. It asks what the post-pandemic environment will look like when it comes to community resilience, and what is needed to ensure that the economic hit imposed by COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] does not exacerbate tensions in communities. Ultimately, it asks how we can 'build back better' when it comes to cohesion, so that the period of hardship which is likely to follow the coronavirus pandemic does not harm resilience.' The COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a period of real economic difficulty for the UK. It has effectively created a 'perfect storm' - exposing weak social infrastructure, accelerating certain types of automation and stretching local authorities, many of which were hit hard by austerity long before the coronavirus. This is not just an economic crisis but one that undermines the resilience of our communities, and puts many at risk of division and rising hate. Our research has consistently shown how, during economically tough periods, resentments and frustrations can brew, and people look for someone to blame. When people have little hope for their own chances in life, it is much harder for them to show openness and compassion for others. And it easier for opportunists to exploit real fears with hatred. The post-pandemic landscape therefore poses enormous challenges for community resilience. This is likely to play out across geographic divides. Our research has consistently found that communities with the greatest anxiety about immigration and multiculturalism are also the ones which have suffered through economic decline, have weak civic, social and economic infrastructure, and feel most distant from power."
Hope not Hate (Organisation); Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Carter, Rosie; Clarke, Chris
2021-11
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What Do Middle-Income Countries Want from the IMF as They Look to Recover from the Pandemic?
From the Document: "After more than a year of grappling with the economic effects of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, many middle-income countries (MICs) will continue to experience health and economic dislocation for some time to come. While much of the global financial community's attention has focused on supporting low-income countries (LICs), the majority of the world's poor are in MICs, and economic recovery in these countries will be critical to an equitable and sustainable global future. [...] To understand the current reticence among MICs to access IMF [International Monetary Fund] support, CGD [Center for Global Development] held a closed-door meeting with current and former MIC officials from across the globe (central bank governors, deputy governors, and ministers of finance) earlier this year. With a view towards past experiences, we found four plausible explanations for the low uptake of IMF financial support during the pandemic. We identify these and give our take on how to deal with them below."
Center for Global Development
Plant, Mark W.; Rojas-Suárez, Liliana
2021-11
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COVID-19: State Carried Out Historic Repatriation Effort but Should Strengthen Its Preparedness for Future Crises, Report to Congressional Addressees
From the Highlights: "State [Department of State] provides repatriation assistance to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents abroad during crises such as the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. State's Office of Crisis Management and Strategy and Bureau of Consular Affairs were primarily responsible for State's COVID-19 repatriation effort. The CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act includes a provision for GAO [Government Accountability Office] to report on its ongoing COVID-19 monitoring and oversight efforts. In addition, GAO was asked to examine State's COVID-19 repatriation effort. This report examines, among other things, (1) the results of State's repatriation effort, including lessons State reported learning from challenges it faced; (2) the consistency of selected aspects of State's repatriation effort with its policies and procedures; and (3) State's oversight of its overseas posts' crisis preparedness."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-11
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US Emergency Food Aid Programs: In the Current COVID-19 Global Environment, Commonsense Reforms Are Overdue
From the Key Points: "[1] The United States international emergency food aid program has done a tremendous amount of good for people in dire need of help since it was first launched nearly 70 years ago in 1954. [2] However, mandates that forces the program to buy almost all US food aid at home and ship at least half of it on US-registered vessels are exceptionally costly in budgetary and humanitarian terms and are damaging to national security by limiting the exercise of soft power. [3] At the same time, the domestic policy rationales used to justify those mandates in 1954 have effectively disappeared over the past 30 or so years. [and 4] The rest of the world's emergency food aid donors have shed the shackles of procurement and shipping mandates. As commercial shipping freight rates and food prices continue to soar, severely constricting US Agency for International Development's ability to use the fixed budget allocated for the international food aid program, it is time for the US to follow suit."
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Barrett, Christopher B. (Christopher Brendan); Smith, Vincent H.
2021-11
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COVID-19: HHS Agencies' Planned Reviews of Vaccine Distribution and Communication Efforts Should Include Stakeholder Perspectives, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "Vaccination remains critical in the federal response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. Vaccine implementation-- prioritizing, allocating, distributing, and administering doses--requires coordination among federal, state, and local levels and other stakeholders. HHS agencies--including CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and HRSA [Health Resources and Services Administration]--set up federal vaccine distribution programs, such as CDC's retail pharmacy program that sends doses directly to pharmacies. The federal government also sends vaccine doses to states for further distribution. The CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security] Act includes a provision for GAO [U.S. Government Accountability Office] to report on its ongoing monitoring and oversight efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This report examines (1) stakeholder perspectives on federal programs to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines, (2) efforts to inform health officials, providers, and the public about vaccination, and (3) actions HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] agencies are taking to evaluate their vaccine implementation efforts. GAO reviewed data and documents from HHS, CDC, and HRSA, and reviewed information from and interviewed state and local health officials in four states and one city selected, in part, for geographic variation. GAO also interviewed other stakeholders, including 12 national associations representing health care providers and others."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-11
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How Conspiracists Exploited COVID-19 Science
From the Document: "Instead of envisioning an untidy world filled with randomness, unintended consequences, innocent action gone awry and new evidence, conspiracists envision one that is inhabited by powerful individuals who conceal malign activities and intent. The fluid nature of emergent science provides fuel for conspiracy theorists who offer certainty in place of the provisional, sometimes-updated statements of health experts. At the same time, conspiracy proponents question the trustworthiness and motives of those in the federal agencies, philanthropic institutions and pharmaceutical companies who fund basic research and develop, deliver and, in the case of some of the federal agencies, regulate public access to medical treatments, including vaccines. Filtering the world through these lenses, during the pandemic conspiracists have drawn on and manipulated statements and actions by public health experts, such as Dr Anthony Fauci (director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), on topics that range from mask wearing and COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] treatments to vaccine safety and the funding of coronavirus research. Understanding the susceptibilities that conspiracists exploit should help us to identify ways to better safeguard both the trustworthiness of health science and public trust in it."
Springer Nature (Firm)
Jamieson, Kathleen Hall
2021-11-01
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Election Assistance Commission: Assessment of Lessons Learned Could Improve Grants Administration, Report to Congressional Committees
From the Highlights: "During the 2020 federal elections, the EAC [U.S. Election Assistance Commission] administered $400 million in grant funds provided by the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act to help states prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. The CARES Act 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 (1) describes information that the EAC provided to state and local election officials for conducting elections during the pandemic, (2) describes how the EAC administered CARES Act grant funding, and (3) examines the extent to which the EAC assessed its CARES Act grants administration."
United States. Government Accountability Office
2021-11
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Misinformation: An Empirical Study with Scientists and Communicators During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Introduction: "Public discussion of false or misleading information about COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] has been a prominent feature of the current pandemic. Studies of Twitter and YouTube activity about COVID-19 in early 2020 showed alarmingly high rates of misinformation, with up to a quarter of tweets/popular YouTube videos containing false or unverifiable information. The spread of misinformation about COVID-19 has been described as a threat to public health since people with false beliefs about COVID-19 are more likely to act in ways that put themselves and global populations at risk. The spread of 'misinformation' on science topics - false, inaccurate or misleading information, with or without the intention to deceive - is not a new problem. It is, however, of particular concern during a pandemic because of the urgency of the situation and the need to rely heavily on each other to behave responsibly. [...] Ultimately, we want to inform conversations about how to facilitate timely spread of high-quality science while protecting the public from misinformation arising from the spread of low-quality science. Our research goals were: [1] To identify and analyse the views of science knowledge experts about the spread of science misinformation using the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as a key case study and stimulus for discussion. [2] To identify strategies to reduce spread of scientific misinformation into the future."
BMJ Open Science
Parker, Lisa; Byrne, Jennifer A.; Goldwater, Micah . . .
2021-10-29
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MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 29, 2021
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 issue of MMWR contains the following: "Routine Vaccination Coverage -- Worldwide, 2020"; "Cake Decorating Luster Dust Associated with Toxic Metal Poisonings -- Rhode Island and Missouri, 2018-2019"; "Current Marijuana Use and Alcohol Consumption Among Adults Following the Legalization of Nonmedical Retail Marijuana Sales -- Colorado, 2015-2019"; "Update of the Blood Lead Reference Value -- United States, 2021"; "Severity of Disease Among Adults Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Before and During the Period of SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] B.1.617.2 (Delta) Predominance -- COVID-NET [COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network], 14 States, January-August 2021"; and '"Quickstats': Percentage of Adults Who Received Any Mental Health Treatment in the Past 12 Months, by Age Group and Year -- National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2019-2020." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2021-10-29
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MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 29, 2021: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' Interim Recommendations for Additional Primary and Booster Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines -- United States, 2021
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: "The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' Interim Recommendations for Additional Primary and Booster Doses of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccines -- United States, 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.)
2021-10-29
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MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 29, 2021: Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Among Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19-Like Illness with Infection-Induced or mRNA Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Immunity -- Nine States, January-September 2021
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: "Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Among Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19-Like Illness with Infection-Induced or mRNA [messenger ribonucleic acid] Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] Immunity -- Nine States, January-September 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.)
2021-10-29
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Quarterly Report to the United States Congress: July to September 2021
From the Document: "When the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic threatened to wreak havoc on the health and economic well-being of the American people, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to invest trillions of dollars to address these extraordinary challenges. Unfortunately, this vital investment of taxpayer dollars has been put at risk of fraud, waste, and abuse by bad actors, who seek to gain at the expense of those most in need. We at the Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) have pursued our mission aggressively and proactively to detect and investigate such wrongdoing."
United States. Office of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery
2021-10-29
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Updated Assessment on COVID-19 Origins
From the Document: "After examining all available intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC [Intelligence Community] remains divided on the most likely origin of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident. [1] Four IC elements and the National Intelligence Council assess with low confidence that the initial SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] infection was most likely caused by natural exposure to an animal infected with it or a close progenitor virus--a virus that probably would be more than 99 percent similar to SARS-CoV-2. These analysts give weight to China's officials' lack of foreknowledge, the numerous vectors for natural exposure, and other factors. [2] One IC element assesses with moderate confidence that the first human infection with SARS-CoV-2 most likely was the result of a laboratory-associated incident, probably involving experimentation, animal handling, or sampling by the Wuhan Institute of Virology. These analysts give weight to the inherently risky nature of work on coronaviruses. [3] Analysts at three IC elements remain unable to coalesce around either explanation without additional information, with some analysts favoring natural origin, others a laboratory origin, and some seeing the hypotheses as equally likely. [4] Variations in analytic views largely stem from differences in how agencies weigh intelligence reporting and scientific publications and intelligence and scientific gaps. The IC judges they will be unable to provide a more definitive explanation for the origin of COVID-19 unless new information allows them to determine the specific pathway for initial natural contact with an animal or to determine that a laboratory in Wuhan was handling SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor virus before COVID-19 emerged."
United States. Office of the Director of National Intelligence; National Intelligence Council (U.S.)
2021-10-29?
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Lessons Learnt from the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Financial Stability Perspective: Final Report
From the Introduction: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic is the first major test of the global financial system after the financial crisis of 2008. While the core of the financial system - including major banks and financial market infrastructures (FMIs) - proved resilient, the macroeconomic shock led initially to severe liquidity stress in some other parts of the system. In particular, the stress in key funding markets highlighted financial vulnerabilities in parts of the NBFI [non-bank financial intermediation] sector and prompted unprecedented central bank intervention. While significantly different in nature from the 2008 crisis, this real-life test holds important lessons for financial policy, especially on the functioning of the G20 [Group of 20] financial regulatory reforms. Against this background, the Italian G20 Presidency asked the FSB [Financial Stability Board] to identify preliminary lessons for financial stability from the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this request, the FSB, in collaboration with SSBs, prepared an interim report on lessons learnt. [...] This final report updates the assessment provided in the July interim report and outlines actions by the FSB and SSBs [standard-setting bodies] in response to lessons learnt. The update reflects feedback from external stakeholders and the FSB RCGs [Regional Consultative Groups], obtained through outreach events. It also takes into account recent studies in this area and progress made in relevant international initiatives."
Financial Stability Board
2021-10-28
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Synergistic Interventions to Control COVID-19: Mass Testing and Isolation Mitigates Reliance on Distancing
From the Author Summary: "The global spread of SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] and the strategies used to manage it have come at significant societal costs. We analyze how mixed control strategies, which utilize interventions that prevent new infections from occurring (e.g., distancing or shut-downs) and others that actively search for and isolate existing infections (here, mass testing), can achieve improved public health outcomes while avoiding severe socio-economic burdens. Our results suggest that increasing testing capacity, including the number of tests available and the speed at which test results are provided, can reduce reliance on costly preventative interventions. Such reduction is possible with more isolation of active infections, including those without reported symptoms. However, failing to maintain preventative interventions without sufficient testing capacity can lead to large increases in infection burdens. By defining the combined effect of these interventions through mathematical models, this study provides insight into relaxation of distancing measures, and lays the groundwork for future public health economics analyses on the cost-effectiveness of combined management strategies."
Public Library of Science
Howerton, Emily; Ferrari, Matthew J.; Bjornstad, Ottar N. . . .
2021-10-28
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Pandemic Surveillance Discrimination
From the Webpage Abstract: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has laid bare the abiding tension between surveillance and privacy. Public health epidemiology has long utilized a variety of surveillance methods--such as contact tracing, quarantines, and mandatory reporting laws--to control the spread of disease during past epidemics and pandemics. Officials have typically justified the resulting intrusions on privacy as necessary for the greater public good by helping to stave off larger health crisis. The nature and scope of public health surveillance in the battle against COVID-19, however, has significantly changed with the advent of new technologies. [...] This Essay examines the discord between public health surveillance and privacy rights and argues that the bio-surveillance technologies being used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic--such as contact tracing apps, GPS [Global Positioning System] ankle monitors and other wearables, the collection of cell phone location data, genomic testing, and targeted quarantines--can potentially exacerbate discrimination against racial minorities and immigrants. The Essay concludes with legal and policy solutions on how to utilize public health surveillance tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while guarding against privacy violations and racial bias."
University of Pittsburgh. School of Law
Sundquist, Christian Powell
2021-10-27?
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Memorandum from Majority Staff to Members, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Regarding Coronavirus Infections and Deaths Among Meatpacking Workers at Top Five Companies Were Nearly Three Times Higher Than Previous Estimates, October 27, 2021
From the Executive Summary: "As the coronavirus spread rapidly through the United States in the spring of 2020, meatpacking facilities became hotspots for outbreaks that sickened and killed meatpacking workers and likely caused significant spread in surrounding communities. Following multiple reports of widescale coronavirus outbreaks within and around meatpacking facilities, the Select Subcommittee initiated an investigation into coronavirus infections and deaths in meatpacking plants, and failures by meatpacking companies and the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to safeguard workers against workplace coronavirus outbreaks in the first year of the pandemic. This investigation has revealed that the impact of the coronavirus on meatpacking workers' health and safety was significantly worse than previously estimated. 'Newly obtained documents from five of the largest meatpacking conglomerates, which represent over 80 percent of the market for beef and over 60 percent of the market for pork in the United States--JBS USA Food Company (JBS), Tyson Foods, Inc. (Tyson), Smithfield Foods (Smithfield), Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation (Cargill), and National Beef Packing Company, LLC (National Beef)--reveal that coronavirus infections and deaths among their meatpacking workers were substantially higher than previously estimated.'"
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Reform. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
2021-10-27
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Assessment of the COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on the 2020 ACS 1-Year Data
From the Introduction: "In 2020, the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic caused disruptions in the daily lives of people in the United States and around the world. Policies meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus (such as community-level stay-at-home orders) forced organizations to change how they operate. The pandemic complicated the operations of the American Community Survey (ACS) in a variety of ways. Throughout the year, the survey adapted to the circumstances by changing operations to protect the health and safety of Census Bureau staff and the public. [...] This report describes the elements of the survey that were affected by the pandemic. The information is presented in order of survey processes."
U.S. Census Bureau; United States. Department of Commerce
Baumgardner, Stephanie; Raglin, David; Asiala, Mark . . .
2021-10-27
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Executive Education Program: The Next Season of Pandemic Response: What Leaders Need to Know This Fall and Winter [Video]
From the Video Description: "In this webinar, national experts discuss what local and state leaders might expect next in the U.S. response to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. Panelists address the latest developments in vaccine expansion for youth populations, challenges in maintaining a resilient healthcare workforce, and endgame strategies for the pandemic. Dr. Nesbitt references the COVID-19 Pandemic Health and Healthcare Recovery Report, which addresses potential population health concerns as a result of the pandemic in Washington D.C. Please join us as we explore collaboration opportunities for homeland security, emergency management, public health and public safety officials in the months to come. Read an overview of the session."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Gary, Allen J.; Reykdal, Chris; Nesbitt, LaQuandra . . .
2021-10-27
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Operation Warp Speed: The Interagency and Public-Private Collaborations that Drove It [video]
From the video description: "In this webinar from the Council on Strategic Risks, Christine Parthemore and Andy Weber host Dr. Matt Hepburn and Dr. Monique K. Mansoura to discuss Operation Warp Speed and how [to] build on its success in the future." Operation Warp Speed is a program funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and originally launched by the U.S. government (as a public-private partnership) to oversee and speed up the development and distribution of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and treatments. The duration of this video is 58 minutes and 47 seconds. Closed captioning and an auto-generated transcript are available for use.
Council on Strategic Risks
Parthemore, Christine; Weber, Andy; Hepburn, Matthew J. . . .
2021-10-27
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Resources for Tracking Federal COVID-19 Spending [Updated October 26, 2021]
From the Summary: "Congress has responded to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with supplemental appropriations measures providing relief and assistance to individuals and families, state and local governments, businesses, health care providers, and other entities. For more information, see CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R46474, 'Laws Enacted in Response to COVID-19: Resources for Congressional Offices', by Meredith Sund. This report provides selected sources for tracking COVID-19 relief and assistance spending. It contains links to and information on government sources detailing spending amounts at various levels, including consolidated spending by multiple government agencies, spending by individual government agencies, and spending for specific recipients and geographies. The sources themselves are large government databases, individual agencies, oversight entities, and selected non governmental entities that attempt to repackage information on spending amounts obtained from available government sources."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Teefy, Jennifer; Kreiser, Maria
2021-10-26
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Social Security Administration (SSA): COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan
From the Document: "In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Safer Federal Workplace: Agency Model Safety Principles memorandum (M-21-15) [hyperlink] on the President's Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing [hyperlink], we have created a Workplace Safety Plan. The safety protocols we put in place in July 2020 and outlined in this plan address the model safety principles in OMB Memorandum M-21-15. This plan is a living document. We will update it to incorporate guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OMB. We manage a network of about 1,500 offices nationwide. About 1,200 of these offices provide a wide-range of direct services to local communities. Prior to the pandemic, these offices served over 800,000 visitors a week, many of whom arrived at our offices without an appointment. Since March 2020, most employees have worked remotely to serve the public primarily through our online services or over the phone. Currently, we welcome over 10,000 visitors a week to our offices by appointment only for a critical issue that we are unable to address over the phone. We took this step to protect our employees and the public we serve, many of whom--given the nature of our programs--are aged or have disabilities placing them at increased risk for serious COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] outcomes. In addition to serving a limited number of customers onsite, a minimum number of staff report onsite when necessary to handle non-portable work including opening and scanning mail, which provides work for our remote employees."
United States. Social Security Administration
2021-10-26
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COVID-19 State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report 17 (October 12 - 26, 2021)
From the Summary: "Employees, employers, and consumers continue to struggle with the implementation and enforcement of President Biden's vaccination requirements. Protests and legal challenges persist among those opposed to the requirements, including the use of religious exemptions for the express purpose of circumventing compliance with requirements. On October 7, 2021, Pfizer-BioNTech [Biopharmaceutical New Technologies] submitted initial data from their COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine trial in children ages 5 to 11 years old to the FDA. The anticipation of the vaccine's emergency use authorization has generated mixed feelings among social media users who question the safety and need to vaccinate this population, given the relatively lower rate of severe disease, compared to older age groups. Concern about potential vaccine side effects continues to fuel the spread of misinformation, from misconstruing medical journal reports, to the purported superiority of natural immunity. However, reports, news articles, and social media conversation indicate that, despite the opposition, there are still many people who are in favor of COVID-19 vaccination and vaccination requirements for both children and adults."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2021-10-26
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Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting: EUA Amendment Request for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Use in Children 5 Through 11 Years of Age
From the Executive Summary: "On October 6, 2021, Pfizer submitted a request to FDA to amend its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to expand use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccine (BNT162b2) for prevention of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] in individuals 5 through 11 years of age (hereafter 5-11 years of age). The proposed dosing regimen is a 2-dose primary series, 10 µg mRNA/per dose, administered 3 weeks apart. This EUA request initially included safety data from 1,518 BNT162b2 recipients and 750 placebo (saline) recipients 5-11 years of age who are enrolled in the Phase 2/3 portion (Cohort 1) of an ongoing randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, C4591007. [...] This October 26, 2021 VRPBAC [sic] [Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee] meeting is being held to discuss whether, based on the totality of scientific evidence available, the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine when administered as a 2-dose series (10 µg each dose, 3 weeks apart) outweigh its risks for use in children 5-11 years of age."
United States. Food and Drug Administration
2021-10-26
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Delayed Epidemic Peak Caused by Infection and Recovery Rate Fluctuations
From the Abstract: "Forecasting epidemic scenarios has been critical to many decision-makers in imposing various public health interventions. Despite progresses in determining the magnitude and timing of epidemics, epidemic peak time predictions for H1N1 and COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] were inaccurate, with the peaks delayed with respect to predictions. Here, we show that infection and recovery rate fluctuations play a critical role in peak timing. Using a susceptible-infected-recovered model with daily fluctuations on control parameters, we show that infection counts follow a lognormal distribution at the beginning of an epidemic wave, similar to price distributions for financial assets. The epidemic peak time of the stochastic solution exhibits an inverse Gaussian probability distribution, fitting the spread of the epidemic peak times observed across Italian regions. We also show that, for a given basic reproduction number R0, the deterministic model anticipates the peak with respect to the most probable and average peak time of the stochastic model. The epidemic peak time distribution allows one for a robust estimation of the epidemic evolution. Considering these results, we believe that the parameters' dynamical fluctuations are paramount to accurately predict the epidemic peak time and should be introduced in epidemiological models."
American Institute of Physics
Arutkin, Maxence; Faranda, Davide; Alberti, Tommaso . . .
2021-10-26
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Reopening California: Seeking Robust, Nondominated COVID-19 Exit Strategies
From the Abstract: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic required significant public health interventions from local governments. Although nonpharmaceutical interventions often were implemented as decision rules, few studies evaluated the robustness of those reopening plans under a wide range of uncertainties. This paper uses the Robust Decision Making approach to stress-test 78 alternative reopening strategies, using California as an example. This study uniquely considers a wide range of uncertainties and demonstrates that seemingly sensible reopening plans can lead to both unnecessary COVID-19 deaths and days of interventions. We find that plans using fixed COVID-19 case thresholds might be less effective than strategies with time-varying reopening thresholds. While we use California as an example, our results are particularly relevant for jurisdictions where vaccination roll-out has been slower. The approach used in this paper could also prove useful for other public health policy problems in which policymakers need to make robust decisions in the face of deep uncertainty."
PLoS ONE
Nascimento de Lima, Pedro; Lempert, Robert J.; Vardavas, Raffaele . . .
2021-10-26
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Tropical Infectious Diseases: Still Here, Still Raging, Still Killing
From the Document: "In our time of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], practically every public health agency--from local and state health departments, to the U.S. CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], to the WHO [World Health Organization]--has concentrated its efforts on slowing SARS-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome-2] coronavirus transmission. This occurred initially through nonpharmaceutical interventions and then, in the second year of the pandemic, through administering vaccinations. Despite these efforts, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-2021 have been devastating. The most recent estimates from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington indicate that up to 6.5 million people will have lost their lives from COVID-19 by the end of 2021. Tragically, the deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost over this period will extend beyond the direct effects of SARS-2 coronavirus. For instance, in the United States and globally, the ensuing social disruptions slowed or even halted childhood vaccination programs. Although childhood vaccinations are rebounding as waves of the COVID-19 epidemic pass, one worry is that all of the antivaccine aggression now directed at COVID-19 vaccines may spill over to other programs. In such a case, we might not achieve pre-pandemic immunization levels for many months or even years; we might experience resurgence of measles and other vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Another concern is the diversion of global health programs toward COVID-19 at the expense of tropical infectious diseases such as the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and malaria."
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Hotez, Peter J.
2021-10-25
