scholarly journals The association between age, COVID-19 symptoms, and social distancing behavior in the United States

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Canning ◽  
Mahesh Karra ◽  
Rashmi Dayalu ◽  
Muqi Guo ◽  
David E. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Older People ◽  
Incidence Rate ◽  
Shortness Of Breath ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Household Members ◽  
Close Contacts

AbstractBackgroundPublic health authorities recommend that people practice social distancing, especially if they have symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), or are older and more at risk of serious illness if they become infected. We test the hypothesis that these groups are following these recommendations and are more likely to undertake social distancing.MethodsWe conducted an open online survey of 4,676 U.S. adults aged 18 and older between April 4 and April 7, 2020. We model the effects of age and common COVID-19 symptoms in the last two weeks on going out of the home for non-healthcare reasons the day before taking the survey, using a logistic model and the number of close contacts (within 6 feet) that respondents had with non-household members, using a Poisson count model. Our models control for several covariates, including other flu-like symptoms, sex, education, income, whether the respondent worked in February, household size, population density in the respondent’s ZIP code, state fixed effects, and the day of completion of the survey. We also weight our analyses to make the sample representative of the U.S. adult population.FindingsAbout 52 percent of the adult United States population went out of their home the previous day. On average, adults had close contact with 1.9 non-household members. We find that having at least one COVID-19 symptom (fever, dry cough, or shortness of breath) increased the likelihood of going out the previous day and having additional close contacts with non-household members; however, the estimates were not statistically significant. When disaggregating our analysis by COVID-19 symptoms, we find no strong evidence of greater social distancing by people with a fever or cough in the last two weeks, but we do find that those who experienced shortness of breath have fewer close contacts, with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.30–0.78). Having other flu-like symptoms reduces the odds of going out by 0.32 (95% CI: 0.18–0.60) and the incidence rate of having close contacts by 42 percent (IRR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.38–0.88). We find that older people are just as likely to leave their homes as younger people, but people over the age of 50 had less than half the predicted number of close contacts than those who were younger than 30. Our approach has the limitation that the survey sample is self-selected. Our findings may therefore be subject to selection bias that is not adequately controlled for by weighting. In addition, the possibility exists of confounding of the results due to omitted variable bias.ConclusionsWe provide evidence that older people are having significantly fewer close contacts than younger people, which is in line with the public health authorities’ recommendations. We also find that people experiencing shortness of breath are practicing more intense social distancing. However, we find that those with two other common COVID-19 symptoms, fever and dry cough, are not engaging in greater social distancing, suggesting that increased targeting on relevant symptoms, and messaging, may be required.

scholarly journals “Smittestopp”: If you want your freedom back, download now

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205395172093998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin B Sandvik
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Data Hoarding ◽  
The Government

The intervention attempts to engage critically with the Smittestopp app as a specifically Norwegian technofix. Culturally and politically, much of the Covid-19 response and the success of social distancing rules have been organized around the widespread trust in the government and public health authorities, and a focus on the citizens’ duty to contribute to the dugnaðr. The intervention argues that Smittestopp has been co-created by the mobilization of trust and dugnaðr, resulting in the launch of an incomplete and poorly defined data-hoarding product with significant vulnerabilities.

scholarly journals Vaping Restrictions: Is Priority to the Young Justified?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Magalhaes
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Young People ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Ethical Dilemma ◽  
The United States ◽  
Youth Smoking ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Abstract The vast majority of smokers become dependent on nicotine in youth. Preventing dependence has therefore been crucial to the recent decline in youth smoking. The advent of vaping creates an opportunity for harm reduction to existing smokers (mostly adults) but simultaneously also undermines prevention efforts by becoming a new vehicle for young people to become dependent on nicotine, creating an ethical dilemma. Restrictions to access to some vaping products enacted in response to the increase in vaping among youth observed in the United States since 2018 have arguably prioritized prevention of new cases of dependence—protecting the young—over harm reduction to already dependent adults. Can this prioritization of the young be justified? This article surveys the main bioethical arguments for prioritizing giving health benefits to the young and finds that none can justify prioritizing dependence prevention over harm reduction: any reasons for prioritizing the current cohort of young people at risk from vaping will equally apply to current adult smokers, who are overwhelmingly likely to have become nicotine-dependent in their own youth. Public health authorities’ current tendency to prioritize the young, therefore, does not seem to be ethically justified. Implications This article argues that commonsense reasons for prioritizing the young do not apply to the ethical dilemma surrounding restricting access to vaping products.

scholarly journals Syndromic Surveillance Practice in the United States 2014: Results from a Nationwide Survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tera Reynolds ◽  
Scott Gordon ◽  
Paula Soper ◽  
James Buehler ◽  
Richard Hopkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Syndromic Surveillance ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Surveillance Practice

Presentation of the results of a nationwide survey designed to assess the syndromic surveillance practices and capacity-building assistance needs of state and territorial public health authorities in the United States.

Monitoring Social Distancing Using Artificial Intelligence for Fighting COVID-19 Virus Spread

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 48-63
Author(s):  
Hashem Alyami ◽  
Wael Alosaimi ◽  
Moez Krichen ◽  
Roobaea Alroobaea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Virus Spread ◽  
Person Detection ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Backbone Network ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

To restrict COVID-19, individuals must remain two meters away from one another in public since public health authorities find this a healthy distance. In this way, the incidence of “social distancing” keeps pace with COVID-19 spread. For this purpose, the proposed solution consists of the development of a tool based on AI technologies which takes as input videos (in real time) from streets and public spaces and gives as output the places where social distancing is not respected. Detected persons who are not respecting social distancing are surrounded with red rectangles and those who respect social distancing with green rectangles. The solution has been tested for the case of videos from the two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia: Makkah and Madinah. As a novel contribution compared to existent approaches in the literature, the solution allows the detection of the age, class, and sex of persons not respecting social distancing. Person detection is performed using the Faster RCNN with ResNet-50 as it is the backbone network that is pre-trained with the open source COCO dataset. The obtained results are satisfactory and may be improved by considering more sophisticated cameras, material, and techniques.

scholarly journals Risk factors for death and illness in dogs imported into the United States, 2010--2018

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Pieracci ◽  
Brian Maskery ◽  
Kendra Stauffer ◽  
Alida Gertz ◽  
Clive Brown
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

CDC estimates 1 million dogs are imported into the United States annually. With the movement of large numbers of animals into the United States the risk of disease importation is a concern, especially for emerging diseases. Dogs that arrive to the United States ill or dead are investigated by public health authorities to ensure dogs are not infected with diseases of concern (such as rabies). We identified factors associated with illness and death in imported dogs and estimated the initial investigation cost to public health authorities. Dog importation data from the CDC’s Quarantine Activity Reporting System were reviewed from 2010–2018. The date of entry, country of origin, port of entry, transportation method, and breed were extracted to examine factors associated with illness and death in dogs during international travel. Costs for public health investigations were estimated from data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Office of Personal Management. Death or illness was more likely to occur in brachycephalic breeds (aOR=3.88, 95%CI 2.74–5.51). Transportation of dogs via cargo (aOR=2.41, 95%CI 1.57–3.70) or as checked baggage (aOR=5.74, 95%CI 3.65–9.03) were also associated with death or illness. On average, 19 dog illnesses or deaths were reported annually from 2010–2018. The estimated annual cost to public health authorities to conduct initial public health assessments ranged from $2,071–$104,648. Current regulations do not provide adequate resources or mechanisms to monitor the rates of morbidity and mortality of imported dogs. There are growing attempts to assess animal welfare and communicable disease importation risks; however, responsibility for dogs’ health and well-being is overseen by multiple agencies. A joint federal agency approach to identify interventions that reduce dog morbidity and mortality during flights while continuing to protect U.S. borders from public health and foreign animal disease threats could be beneficial.

Portion Sizes of Ultra-Processed Foods in the United States, 2002 to 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 2223-2226
Author(s):  
Lisa R. Young ◽  
Marion Nestle
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Portion Size ◽  
Processed Foods ◽  
Fast Foods ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
The Us ◽  
Portion Sizes ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Objectives. To assess the US food industry’s response to calls from public health authorities to reduce portion sizes by comparing current with past sizes of selected examples of single-serve ultra-processed packaged and fast foods. Methods. We obtained manufacturers’ information about current portion sizes and compared it with sizes when first introduced and in 2002. Results. Few companies in our sample reduced portion sizes since 2002; all still sold portions of ultra-processed foods in up to 5-times-larger sizes than when first introduced. Conclusions. Policies and practices focused on reducing portion size could help discourage the consumption of excessive amounts of ultra-processed foods. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(12):2223–2226. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306513 )

scholarly journals Measuring the Outreach Efforts of Public Health Authorities and the Public Response on Facebook During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Early 2020: Cross-Country Comparison (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar ◽  
Soon Guan Tan ◽  
Hwee Lin Wee
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Public Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic presents one of the most challenging global crises at the dawn of a new decade. Public health authorities (PHAs) are increasingly adopting the use of social media such as Facebook to rapidly communicate and disseminate pandemic response measures to the public. Understanding of communication strategies across different PHAs and examining the public response on the social media landscapes can help improve practices for disseminating information to the public. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine COVID-19-related outreach efforts of PHAs in Singapore, the United States, and England, and the corresponding public response to these outreach efforts on Facebook. METHODS Posts and comments from the Facebook pages of the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Singapore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, and Public Health England (PHE) in England were extracted from January 1, 2019, to March 18, 2020. Posts published before January 1, 2020, were categorized as pre-COVID-19, while the remaining posts were categorized as peri-COVID-19 posts. COVID-19-related posts were identified and classified into themes. Metrics used for measuring outreach and engagement were frequency, mean posts per day (PPD), mean reactions per post, mean shares per post, and mean comments per post. Responses to the COVID-19 posts were measured using frequency, mean sentiment polarity, positive to negative sentiments ratio (PNSR), and positive to negative emotions ratio (PNER). Toxicity in comments were identified and analyzed using frequency, mean likes per toxic comment, and mean replies per toxic comment. Trend analysis was performed to examine how the metrics varied with key events such as when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. RESULTS The MOH published more COVID-19 posts (n=271; mean PPD 5.0) compared to the CDC (n=94; mean PPD 2.2) and PHE (n=45; mean PPD 1.4). The mean number of comments per COVID-19 post was highest for the CDC (mean CPP 255.3) compared to the MOH (mean CPP 15.6) and PHE (mean CPP 12.5). Six major themes were identified, with posts about prevention and safety measures and situation updates being prevalent across the three PHAs. The themes of the MOH’s posts were diverse, while the CDC and PHE posts focused on a few themes. Overall, response sentiments for the MOH posts (PNSR 0.94) were more favorable compared to response sentiments for the CDC (PNSR 0.57) and PHE (PNSR 0.55) posts. Toxic comments were rare (0.01%) across all PHAs. CONCLUSIONS PHAs’ extent of Facebook use for outreach purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic varied among the three PHAs, highlighting the strategies and approaches that other PHAs can potentially adopt. Our study showed that social media analysis was capable of providing insights about the communication strategies of PHAs during disease outbreaks.

scholarly journals “There’s No Place Like Home for The Holidays:” Travel and SARS-CoV-2 Test Positivity Following Thanksgiving Weekend

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shruti H. Mehta ◽  
Steven J. Clipman ◽  
Amy Wesolowski ◽  
Sunil S. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
The Us ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Household Members ◽  
Do So ◽  
At Home

AbstractIn the US, public health officials discouraged travel and social gatherings for Thanksgiving. Data suggests that many individuals did travel over the holidays, albeit in smaller numbers than previous years. Using an online panel survey of individuals across ten US states, we found that many individuals reported spending Thanksgiving outside of their home (25.9%) or at home with at least one non-household member (27.3%). Among those who were tested, those who had Thanksgiving outside their home were significantly more likely to self-report a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the prior two weeks compared to those who had Thanksgiving at home with non-household members or with household members only (41.7% vs. 21.4% and 13.8%, respectively; p<0.001). Persons who had Thanksgiving outside their home and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 participated in a median 35 (IQR: 21 - 53). non-essential activities compared to those who had Thanksgiving at home and tested positive (median 3 activities, IQR 0-13). Notably, planned travel over the December holidays was most common among those who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the prior 2 weeks (66.5%) compared with 25.4% of those who tested negative in the prior 2 weeks and 11.0% among those who were not tested. While public health authorities should continue promoting messages to dissuade travel and social gatherings over the holidays, as supported by these data, it is equally important to promote messaging on how to get together in a “low-risk” manner for those who travel and plan gatherings. In particular, it is critical that those who do travel or visit with others outside their household do so cautiously and avoid or significantly minimize all other activities where they may potentially acquire and transmit infection in the weeks prior to and after their visit.

scholarly journals A Test-Based Strategy for Safely Shortening Quarantine for COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana M. Lewis ◽  
Scott Leibrand ◽  
Howard Leibrand
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Lower Risk ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Acceptable Risk ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Close Contacts

AbstractQuarantine for COVID-19 is hard and could safely be made easier. Lengthy quarantine is difficult for many individuals to rigorously observe. To date, 14 days has been recommended as the quarantine period for people who are exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case, because most infections appear by then. For household close contacts, there remains a 0.5% chance that a COVID-19 infection may appear after that time, because the COVID-19 incubation period is up to 21 days. However, the risk of transmission after 14 days is so small that public health authorities have decided that 0.5% is an acceptable risk to balance the impact of quarantine on individuals, their communities, and our economy. Therefore, this 0.5% risk of infection is a useful benchmark to consider additional strategies for reducing the burden on individuals while reducing spread of COVID-19. With appropriately timed testing and awareness of possible symptoms, a non-symptomatic individual with a negative COVID-19 test at day 7-8 would be at lower risk of being or becoming infectious than someone completing a 14-day quarantine without testing. If we implemented a test-based strategy for determining the end of quarantine, these individuals could be safely released from quarantine at an earlier date, and would be able to more rigorously quarantine themselves while potentially most infectious.

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