This archive report was first published on 22 April 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, the US is facing a significant challenge in implementing effective contact tracing measures. Unlike Taiwan and South Korea, which have led the world in digital contact tracing, the US has chosen to rely on a laborious phone-based approach.
According to Dr. Joia Mukherjee, chief medical officer of Partners in Health, the nonprofit chosen by Massachusetts to manage its contact tracing program, "It's late." The program, which was launched at the start of April, aims to recruit 1,000 contact tracers, but has already received 17,000 applications.
Massachusetts was the first state to launch its contact tracing program, followed by San Francisco and other jurisdictions. However, the effort is being hampered by a lack of personnel, with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) estimating that the country currently has only 5,000 specialists responsible for monitoring cases of communicable diseases.
"For 40 years, the US has disinvested in public health and community health in favor of hospitals, and the sort of things that generate revenue," said Mukherjee. "In Africa and other parts of the world, this type of work is considered one of the founding principles of public health."
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have suggested that 100,000 contact tracers are needed to assist with the enormous task of contact investigation and containment. However, recruiting and training such a large number of personnel will be a significant challenge.
"Our goal is to get this in place for the reopening," said Michael Fraser, head of ASTHO. "But there's definitely going to be some risks associated with lifting social distancing orders without having the right surveillance mechanisms in place."
Published on April 22, 2020, by AFP.
