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Americans' buy-in for smart phone app could be red flag for coronavirus contact-tracing

Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals
Adapted from a KFF Health Tracking Poll, margin of error ±6 percentage points; Chart: Axios Visuals

A majority of Americans are willing to share their coronavirus test results with public health officials, but fewer are willing to download an app that tracks who they come in contact with, according to new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Why it matters: To lift social distancing measures without allowing the virus to spread rampantly again, we'll need to know in real time who has the virus, and who they could have potentially infected.

The big picture: Google and Apple have announced that they're working on a joint effort to notify people via smartphone — on an opt-in basis — if they've come into contact with someone with the coronavirus, but there's a real question of how many people would use the apps.

  • Half of those polled by KFF said they'd download an app that tracks who they come into contact with, and then alerts them if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
  • This number dropped to 45% if information about who they've come into contact with is provided to public health officials.
  • But people were more willing to download such an app after they were told it would allow them to return to parts of normal life.

The bottom line: "The mixed receptivity to using voluntary apps for contact tracing means that they can be an important tool to combat the epidemic but will not be a substitute for old-fashioned contact tracing," KFF president and CEO Drew Altman said.

Go deeper: Tracking epidemics from space

Go deeper

Orion Rummler
Jul 31, 2020 - Politics & Policy

CDC director says he was not involved in decision to change coronavirus data reporting

CDC director Robert Redfield testified Friday that he was not involved in the Trump administration's decision to bypass his agency and instead have hospitals send coronavirus data to the Health and Human Services Department.

Why it matters: According to the COVID Tracking Project, data on coronavirus hospitalizations has been "unstable since July 15" — five days after the change.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated Oct 7, 2020 - Health

World coronavirus updates

Expand chart
Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

New Zealand now has active no coronavirus cases in the community after the final six people linked to the Auckland cluster recovered, the country's Health Ministry confirmed in an email Wednesday.

The big picture: The country's second outbreak won't officially be declared closed until there have been "no new cases for two incubation periods," the ministry said. Auckland will join the rest of NZ in enjoying no domestic restrictions from late Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, declaring that NZ had "beat the virus again."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Marisa Fernandez
Jul 31, 2020 - Health

CDC: Most COVID-19 cases at Georgia summer camp came from kids

Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Despite mitigation efforts, a 597-person summer sleep-away camp in Georgia was responsible for a cluster of coronavirus cases in June, where more than half of the positive tests came from children under age 18, according to a case study published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it matters: Kids are not immune to the coronavirus. The findings accentuate the unknown factors associated with how easily children transmit the virus, and only weeks before schools are expected to reopen.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow