Federalism Is an Asset
The U.S. is designed to be centralized and decentralized at the same time, which is exactly the structure we need right now to fight COVID-19. The ideological battles between conservatives and liberals always assume “either/or”—it is either the federal government or the states/localities that we need to steer policy, when actually it is both/and.
Towards Global Pandemic Resilience
This paper considers varied experiences with tackling the pandemic, with particular focus on three regions — India, Africa, and Latin America — that are collectively home to forty percent of the world’s population. These regions face several challenges to adopting the testing, tracing, and supported isolation (TTSI) roadmap that we have proposed for the United States. We reflect on alternative policy trajectories that can help us transition back to work and social activity while safeguarding human lives worldwide.
The Mechanics of the COVID-19 Testing Supply Chain: Version 2.0
To deliver a safe social opening by June 30, we need to deliver 5 million tests per day with results returned in 12-24 hours. The number of test results delivered will need to increase to 20 million per day by July 30 to fully remobilize the economy.
Responding to COVID-19: Think through the Analogy of War
The tenth white paper in our series of COVID-19 resources is, “Responding to COVID-19: Think through the Analogy of War,” by Charles S. Maier and Ian Kumekawa. Abstract Americans reach for the analogy of war in times of national emergency and particularly use our collective memory of World War II. To some degree, the military […]
Immunity Certificates: If We Must Have Them, We Must Do It Right
This paper outlines key technical and governance considerations necessary for a robust, privacy-protecting credentialing system, and discusses the risks of such programs. The paper also endeavors to sketch out the necessary rate of adoption and the likely ecosystem of partners required for successful implementation of immunity certificates. Finally, it offers a roadmap and call to action for policymakers (with a focus on North America and Europe) and to the technology community to align on standards to ensure we do not end up with fragmented implementations that fall short of meeting achievable, and essential, goals.
Policing in a Time of Pandemic: Recommendations for Law Enforcement
This white paper notes the novel law enforcement challenges created by COVID-19 and describes the different approach police must take in light of these challenges in order to serve their traditional public safety function.
Outpacing the Virus: Digital Response to Containing the Spread of COVID-19 while Mitigating Privacy Risks
There is a growing consensus that we must use a combined strategy of medical and technological tools to provide us with response at a scale that can outpace the speed and proliferation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A process of identifying exposed individuals who have come into contact with diagnosed individuals, called “contact tracing,” has been shown to effectively enable suppression of new cases of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Important concerns around protecting patient’s confidentiality and civil liberties, and lack of familiarity with available privacy-protecting technologies, have both led to suboptimal privacy implementations and hindered adoption.
Securing Justice, Health, and Democracy
against the COVID-19 Threat
The first white paper examining the impact of the pandemic on democracy is Securing Justice, Health, and Democracy against the COVID-19 Threat, by Danielle Allen, Lucas Stanczyk, I. Glenn Cohen, Carmel Shachar, Rajiv Sethi, Glen Weyl, and Rosa Brooks. You can also find Danielle Allen’s associated op-ed in the Washington Post, “America Needs to Be on a War Footing,” […]
