COVID 19: The Crossroads of Tech and Medicine Part 1 – Tracking Cases
This is part 1 out of 4 of the article series “COVID 19: The Crossroads of Tech and Medicine” published exclusively on the Teens In Health blog Science Now written by Megan Mehta. To read previous articles, visit the Teens In Health Science Now! blog on the Teens In Health website.
As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket, it is abundantly clear that the ongoing pandemic is a perfect example of the intersection of technology and medicine. The primary goal of the world is to stop the spread of COVID-19, reduce the mortality rate, and to keep the population safe. We must track cases for public health officials and medical professionals to combat COVID-19.
Accurately tracking COVID-19 cases and building a profile of which types of areas and people are most susceptible is a challenging task. First, we must understand how the virus spreads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus is mainly spread “through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly inhaled into the lungs.” This spread is most likely to occur “when people are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet)” (CDC). As such, it is pivotal that everyone complies with public health guidelines and listens to public health officials to stay safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19; wear a mask, remain socially distant (6 feet apart), do not go to crowded areas, and stay home if you are not feeling well. Using this information, we can understand why some areas are more likely to experience a spike in cases, as well as why some people are more susceptible to contracting and dying of COVID-19. The WHO, CDC, Johns Hopkins University, among countless other organizations are actively tracking each case of COVID-19 in the United States and around the world. Public health officials collect COVID-19 data from each hospital including “demographic, clinical, and epidemiologic characteristics, exposure and contact history, and course of clinical illness and care received” (CDC). Collecting and analyzing data on the background of each patient, the care they receive, among other details allows public health officials to sort data based on how someone may have been exposed to COVID, which pre-existing conditions present the highest mortality rate, demographics including race, gender, age, etc., among countless other characteristics.
In contrast, other countries are tracking COVID-19 through other means. For example, India created a contract tracing app that has been downloaded over “100 million times according to the information technology ministry” (BBC). Many people are hesitant to download such software due to fears of over privacy violations, government tracking, etc. I will not be discussing the ethics behind tracking COIVD-19 cases through such means and methods; instead, I will focus on how public health officials are collecting this type of data, and how more data can benefit the overall public. The app uses the “phone’s Bluetooth and location data” to “let users know if they have been near a person with COVID-19 by scanning a database of known cases of infections. The data is then shared with a government” (BBC). This makes the process of tracking COIVD much more efficient because public health officials do not have to track down each person that someone with COIVD-19 might have had contact with, and allows them to have more time to determine which policies are necessary to stop the overall spread of COVID-19. Although many people have expressed privacy concerns, the app has boosted the depth and accuracy of the data available to public health officials, therefore, medical professionals and the overall public is able to respond most effectively in real-time.
Regardless of how public health officials collect data, it is undeniably clear that having more information and understanding the background of each data point is pivotal to stopping the spread of COVID-19. Tracking cases can help public health officials and medical professionals understand which policies must be enacted to stop COVID-19, and how to prepare for a surge in the number of cases in the future.
Works Cited:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/faq-surveillance.html
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52659520
Image Credit: https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/11165812/c0481846-wuhan_novel_coronavirus_illustration-spl.jpg