
Coronavirus and the Flu
Some doctors worry the combination of coronavirus and the flu could tax our healthcare system. This afternoon, a deep dive into emerging research which suggests mask wearing can help to reduce the spread of both.
Some doctors worry the combination of coronavirus and the flu could tax our healthcare system. This afternoon, a deep dive into emerging research which suggests mask wearing can help to reduce the spread of both.
In 2017, Americans paid around $34 billion in overdraft fees. The hefty fees often hit consumers unexpectedly and can lead to dissatisfaction or even attrition. “Analyzing Bank Overdraft Fees with Big Data,” explores consumer behavior that causes the fees, just how the fees impact customers and banks, and how banks can better address the issue for the benefit of all. The paper was written by New York University Professor Xiao Liu, and Alan Montgomery and Kannan Srinivasan, both professors at Carnegie Mellon University. It was published in the December 2018 issue of Marketing Science, journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
Dr. Adarsh Bhimraj was feeling “helpless” in April about his ability to treat the dozens of Covid-19 patients admitted everyday to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. In those early weeks of the outbreak, Bhimraj and his colleagues struggled to understand why some patients died and others recovered. It happened quickly, he said, adding that the disease could turn in a moment, sending a patient unexpectedly to the intensive care unit, where some died in days.
On the day that a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, a vast logistics operation will need to awaken. Millions of doses must travel hundreds of miles from manufacturers to hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies, which in turn must store, track, and eventually get the vaccines to people all across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local health departments, coordinates this process. These agencies distributed flu vaccines during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic this way, and they manage childhood vaccines every day. But the COVID-19 vaccine will be a whole new challenge.
Just like a fresh piece of fish, vaccines are highly perishable products and must be kept at very cold, specific temperatures. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines under development—like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines—are new RNA-based vaccines. If they get too warm or too cold they spoil. And, just like fish, a spoiled vaccine must be thrown away. So how do companies and public health agencies get vaccines to the people who need them?
Ashley Smith
Public Affairs Coordinator
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3578
An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Twenty years ago, few people would have been able to imagine the energy landscape of today. In 2005, US oil production, after a long decline, had fallen to its lowest levels in decades, and few experts thought that would change.
In the case of upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure, new analysis from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals {that a} “dig once” strategy is almost 40% more economical than changing them individually.