LA'S COVID-19 RESPONSE RUNS ON DATA SCIENCE

When people ask what’s different about the fight against COVID-19 compared with previous pandemics, one answer is data science. We know more—in real time—about infectious disease transmission, treatment efficacy, and the results of prevention programs than ever before, while mobile platforms inform and engage (most) citizens at an individual level.

- S.C. STUART

In Los Angeles County (population: 10.4 million), a public health campaign crowdsourcing data initiative, Angelenos in Action, launched on July 7. I signed up for this targeted weekly SMS Q&A, which asks questions about health status, tied to a participant’s ZIP code and basic non-identifying demographic data (age, gender, race, and so on).

I haven’t been sick, but several of my friends have contracted and recovered from the virus. I haven’t yet signed up for SafePass, the track and trace app, which launched on Sept. 9 in partnership with Citizen. But I am obeying all the precautionary measures around social distancing and mask wearing, and I’m submitting to temperature checks and mandatory surgical gloves before doing deli runs at Eataly.

Curious to learn more about my adopted hometown’s pandemic plans, I exchanged emails with Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, about the campaign that draws on, and populates, the LA County COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard.

Dr. Ferrer was appointed to this role in Jan. 2017, after working as Chief Strategy Officer at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Previously, she served as Executive Director at the Boston Public Health Commission, where her focus was addressing racial health disparities, improving family economic security, and promoting partnerships in both health and education.