Media Coverage

Media articles featuring INFORMS members in the news.

Most Recent Media Coverage

Topic
You Might End Up Getting Your COVID Vaccine From a Dentist or Veterinarian

You Might End Up Getting Your COVID Vaccine From a Dentist or Veterinarian

Vice, January 21, 2021

As states try to pick up the pace in administering coronavirus vaccines, they’re asking a wide range of nontraditional workers to step in. And that means people rolling up to get their shot might find a National Guard member, a dentist, or a veterinarian on the other side of the needle. As of Wednesday, the U.S. has distributed more than 36 million vaccine doses, but administered only about 16.5 million. There’s a host of reasons for that imbalance, including inadequate planning, but some health officials are grappling with a shortage of people able to give the shot. After all, health care workers are also busy managing the COVID-19 pandemic itself.

How Engineering Can Contribute to a Reimagining of the US Public Health System

How Engineering Can Contribute to a Reimagining of the US Public Health System

My Plainview, January 21, 2021

Of the many things that COVID-19 has made abundantly clear to us, surely one of them is a newfound realization that public health has become increasingly complex. Understanding the challenges to public health – that is, the task of guarding the well-being of the U.S. population – is essential now more than ever. As an engineer, design futurist and graduate program director, I have seen how COVID-19 has transformed how public health preparedness is viewed and understood. Some say the pandemic has delivered an urgency for a reimagining of public health. From problems in producing PPE that demonstrate the vulnerabilities in critical supply chains to solutions in vaccine distribution challenges that leverage innovative public-private partnerships, new perspectives and approaches to public health are necessary.

President Biden's National Mask Mandate: What It Means For You

President Biden's National Mask Mandate: What It Means For You

WSOC TV, January 21, 2021

One of President Joe Biden’s first official acts is to require the use of masks and social distancing in all federal buildings, on federal lands and by federal employees and contractors. The White House recommends:

  • Every American to wear a mask when they are around people outside their household.
  • Every governor to make that mandatory in their state.
  • Local authorities to also make it mandatory to support their state’s orders.

Health experts and scientists have repeatedly said that wearing masks and social distancing helps stop the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Julie Swann with North Carolina State University has studied the effectiveness of masks. She leads a team chosen by the CDC to create models for supporting states with their decision-making on the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts are Lagging. Here's What States Are Doing to Pick Up the Pace

COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts are Lagging. Here's What States Are Doing to Pick Up the Pace

CBS News, January 20, 2021

A growing number of states that have struggled to speedily distribute the COVID-19 vaccine are enlisting the National Guard for help. Washington is the latest. Governor Jay Inslee on Monday said he would deploy the Guard to set up mass-vaccination sites, with a goal of ramping up to 45,000 inoculations a day from a current daily average of only 12,000. Previously, Like most states, Washington had mostly planned to rely on hospitals and pharmacies to distribute the vaccine around the state. But its distribution numbers have lagged. 

Expert Recommends Relating Statistics and Familiar Concepts to Understand COVID Death Totals

Expert Recommends Relating Statistics and Familiar Concepts to Understand COVID Death Totals

27 WKOW, January 16, 2021

The United States is set to mark 400,000 deaths due to COVID-19 about a month after recording 300,000 deaths. Ten percent of all American COVID deaths have been reported in the past 11 days, according to data from the New York Times and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Dr. Ajay Sethi, an infectious diseases expert from UW-Madison, said it doesn't look like the pace for new deaths will slow down any time soon. "[With] our current trajectory, we're gonna be at about half a million deaths in the United States a little after Valentine's Day," he said. The numbers are increasing quickly because of the way the virus spreads, according to Dr. Oguz Alagoz, a professor at UW-Madison who models the spread of infectious diseases.

Media Contact

Ashley Smith
Public Affairs Coordinator
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3578

Resoundingly Human Podcast

An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.

Artificial Intelligence

Why 23andMe’s Genetic Data Could Be a ‘Gold Mine’ for AI Companies

Why 23andMe’s Genetic Data Could Be a ‘Gold Mine’ for AI Companies

TIME, March 26, 2025

The genetic testing company 23andMe, which holds the genetic data of 15 million people, declared bankruptcy on Sunday night after years of financial struggles. This means that all of the extremely personal user data could be up for sale—and that vast trove of genetic data could draw interest from AI companies looking to train their data sets, experts say.

Healthcare

Want to reduce the cost of healthcare? Start with our billing practices.

Want to reduce the cost of healthcare? Start with our billing practices.

The Hill, March 11, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the new secretary of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s de facto healthcare czar. He will have influence over numerous highly visible agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, among others. Given that healthcare is something that touches everyone’s life, his footprint of influence will be expansive. 

We all benefit from and are hurt by health insurance claim denials

We all benefit from and are hurt by health insurance claim denials

Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 23, 2025

Health insurance has become necessary, with large and unpredictable health care costs always looming before each of us. Unfortunately, the majority of people have experienced problems when using their health insurance to pay for their medical care. Health insurance serves as the buffer between patients and the medical care system, using population pooling to mitigate the risk exposure on any one individual.

Supply Chain

Experts warn logistics industry stakeholders to make contingency plans

Experts warn logistics industry stakeholders to make contingency plans

Seafood Source, March 10, 2025

In their March 2025 forecasts, shipping and logistics experts are warning those who rely on the industry to expect continued disruption, and in order to survive a chaotic landscape, they are advising businesses to spend money conservatively, work with trusted partners, and make comprehensive contingency plans.

Climate