Media Coverage

The number of active cases of COVID-19 among Transportation Security Administration officers reached 886 people on Dec. 15. To date, over 4,000 officers have tested positive, with 11 fatalities. In addition, over 90% of infected TSA officers perform checkpoint screening, placing them in direct contact with passengers.

While the vaccine may be months away for many in the country, there’s another tool on its way that can go in the hands of everyone in Wisconsin as soon as next week. The State announced the WI Exposure Notification, a voluntary and free smartphone app that uses Bluetooth to alert users if they’ve been in close contact with another user who has tested positive for COVID-19. Whenever someone tests positive for COVID-19, they’ll be sent a code that can be entered into the app, which is used to anonymously send an alert to users with whom they’ve shared a Bluetooth signal.

The TSA has sped up technology deployments since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as it moves to reduce literal touch points at airport screening stations. The effort has been undertaken to benefit the traveling public but also TSA staffers themselves. As of Dec. 15, 11 TSA agents have died of Covid-19. The technology deployments have centered around 3-D screening systems and automated ID authentication. The former diminishes the likelihood that passenger carry-on bags will have to be manually checked, the agency said, which in turn reduces interactions between agents and flyers.

The authorization granted to Moderna's vaccine highlights the role of Operation Warp Speed ​​set up by Washington to accelerate the quest for drugs and vaccines against Covid-19. With an "American-style" method: innovation, a lot of money, soldiers and a dose of marketing.

In this post, we focus on the logistical challenges associated with distributing different types of COVID-19 vaccines to millions of people, from urban centers to sparsely populated rural counties. To address those questions, we spoke with Julie Swann, a systems engineer with expertise in vaccine distribution whose work focuses on making health care and supply chains more efficient, effective and equitable. Swann is the department head and A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor of the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State.