Why the US Needs a National COVID-19 Contact Tracing Corps

Contact tracing in the US is at a critical inflection point. In the early days when COVID-19 first arrived in the US, when federal resources should have been mobilized to bolster our defenses against the virus, the response to the emerging pandemic became a political fight, rather than a public health campaign. The Trump Administration’s unwillingness to publicly acknowledge the seriousness of the virus and to respond quickly in an organized, systematic way allowed infections to run amok across the country. Despite over 8 million cases, 225,000 deaths, and an outbreak striking the White House and Congress, pandemic response efforts continue to be politicized. In the absence of federal leadership, states have been playing catch up since day one with little to no resources at their disposal. Read full article.