Media Coverage

Media articles featuring INFORMS members in the news.

Most Recent Media Coverage

Topic
Good Question: Why Did the Vaccine Timeline Change for Those With Underlying Conditions?

Good Question: Why Did the Vaccine Timeline Change for Those With Underlying Conditions?

WBTV, February 16, 2021

We’ve been getting a lot of Good Questions about the vaccine. This question comes from Becky: “When the vaccine first came out, people with underlying issues were in Group 1b, now we are in Group 4. Why did that change and do we have an estimated timeframe as to when we will get to get them?” That timeline did change. Last month, North Carolina officials announced that the rollout groups would change. They said it was for the sake of simplicity. That meant expanding the vaccine to anyone age 65 and up. But also, reorganizing the rollout groups. The change bumped people with underlying issues down to Group 4.

The state has said it’s trying to align with the CDC guidance.

Those Most Likely to Get COVID Are Last in Line for Vaccines

Those Most Likely to Get COVID Are Last in Line for Vaccines

Wired, February 2, 2021

Since December, about 31 million doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the US. President Biden has committed to distributing 150 million more doses within his first 100 days in office, but new cases continue to mount. January was the deadliest month of the pandemic so far, as scientists say two new, potentially more deadly strains of the virus emerged. As states move to vaccinate people as quickly as they can, early data suggests stark racial disparities in who is getting the vaccine. Coronavirus ravaged low-income, Black, Latinx, and indigenous communities throughout 2020, but in many states, vaccines are going to wealthier, white patients.

Rural Areas Face Challenges In COVID Vaccine Rollout

Rural Areas Face Challenges In COVID Vaccine Rollout

91.3 WSYO, February 15, 2021

Across the Midwest, the rollout of COVID vaccines has been spotty. Lots of people are having a trouble with online signups. And vaccine demand far exceeds supply. That’s made the process challenging, especially in rural areas. For years, the Girls State Training School in central Iowa has sat mostly empty. But on this day, the main building is buzzing as a local vaccination clinic opens. Rooms labeled for social workers, psychologists and others who once helped delinquent girls are filled with health care workers and elderly residents from the rural area. "It's zooming today. We've noticed that despite our best efforts to say come at your scheduled time, people are coming 10, 15 minutes early," says Shannon Zoffka, executive director of the Tama County Public Health Department.

Four-University Study Focuses on Student Well-Being During the Pandemic

Four-University Study Focuses on Student Well-Being During the Pandemic

NC State News, February 16, 2021

An ongoing study led by North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University focuses on assessing the mental, emotional and physical health of undergraduates during the pandemic – in order to determine how universities can better support their students. The study involves students at NC State, North Carolina A&T State University, University of Iowa, and Duke University. “The pandemic is making us evaluate and reinvent the college experience, at least temporarily,” says Julie Ivy, principal investigator (PI) of the study. “For example, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of social connection. How we can facilitate social connection when every course is online?

Rural Areas Face Challenges in COVID Vaccine Rollout

Rural Areas Face Challenges in COVID Vaccine Rollout

Illinois Newsroom, February 12, 2021

Across the Midwest, the rollout of COVID vaccines has been spotty. Lots of people are having a trouble with online signups. And vaccine demand far exceeds supply. That’s made the process challenging, especially in rural areas. For years, the Girls State Training School in central Iowa has sat mostly empty. But on this day, the main building is buzzing as a local vaccination clinic opens. Rooms labeled for social workers, psychologists and others who once helped delinquent girls are filled with health care workers and elderly residents from the rural area. “It’s zooming today. We’ve noticed that despite our best efforts to say come at your scheduled time, people are coming 10, 15 minutes early,” says Shannon Zoffka, executive director of the Tama County Public Health Department.

Zoffka says the clinic scheduled 110 people for their first doses. They were selected from a waiting list her department started last month.

Media Contact

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

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Artificial Intelligence

Study finds ChatGPT mirrors human decision biases in half the tests

Study finds ChatGPT mirrors human decision biases in half the tests

Celebrity Gig, April 2, 2025

Can we really trust AI to make better decisions than humans? A new study says … not always. Researchers have discovered that OpenAI’s ChatGPT, one of the most advanced and popular AI models, makes the same kinds of decision-making mistakes as humans in some situations—showing biases like overconfidence of hot-hand (gambler’s) fallacy—yet acting inhuman in others (e.g., not suffering from base-rate neglect or sunk cost fallacies).

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

LM Podcast Series: Looking at the state of the supply chain with Rob Handfield

LM Podcast Series: Looking at the state of the supply chain with Rob Handfield

Logistics Management/, April 22, 2025

During this podcast Handfield addressed various topics, including: the current state of the supply chain; steps and actions shippers should consider related to tariffs; how the supply chain is viewed; the need for supply chain resiliency; and supply chain risk mangement planning, among others. 

Tariff fight continues between U.S. and China

Tariff fight continues between U.S. and China

FOX News, April 18, 2025

Oklahoma State University's Sunderesh Heragu joins LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss the evolving economic landscape after President Trump implemented tariffs on some of our biggest trade partners. Most tariffs have been halted for now -- but not with China. Beijing and the White House have levied steep tariffs on each other. Trump announced that tariffs on China would reach 145 percent. In response, China imposed 125 percent tariffs on U.S.-imported goods.

Climate