arXiv subjects

Alex Radunsky

Publications and source records attributed to Alex Radunsky.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Digital Landscape of COVID-19 Testing: Challenges and Opportunities

The COVID-19 Pandemic has left a devastating trail all over the world, in terms of loss of lives, economic decline, travel restrictions, trade deficit, and collapsing economy including real-estate, job loss, loss of health benefits, the decline in quality of access to care and services and overall quality of life. Immunization from the anticipated vaccines will not be the stand-alone guideline that will help surpass the pandemic and return to normalcy. Four pillars of effective public health intervention include diagnostic testing for both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals, contact tracing, quarantine of individuals with symptoms or who are exposed to COVID-19, and maintaining strict hygiene standards at the individual and community level. Digital technology, currently being used for COVID-19 testing include certain mobile apps, web dashboards, and online self-assessment tools. Herein, we look into various digital solutions adapted by communities across universities, businesses, and other organizations. We summarize the challenges experienced using these tools in terms of quality of information, privacy, and user-centric issues. Despite numerous digital solutions available and being developed, many vary in terms of information being shared in terms of both quality and quantity, which can be overwhelming to the users. Understanding the testing landscape through a digital lens will give a clear insight into the multiple challenges that we face including data privacy, cost, and miscommunication. It is the destiny of digitalization to navigate testing for COVID-19. Block-chain based systems can be used for privacy preservation and ensuring ownership of the data to remain with the user. Another solution involves having digital health passports with relevant and correct information. In this early draft, we summarize the challenges and propose possible solutions to address the same.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2020

Challenges of Equitable Vaccine Distribution in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a need for widespread and rapid vaccine development. As several vaccines have recently been approved for human use or are in different stages of development, governments across the world are preparing comprehensive guidelines for vaccine distribution and monitoring. In this early article, we identify challenges in logistics, health outcomes, user-centric matters, and communication associated with disease-related, individual, societal, economic, and privacy consequences. Primary challenges include difficulty in equitable distribution, vaccine efficacy, duration of immunity, multi-dose adherence, and privacy-focused record-keeping to be HIPAA compliant. While many of these challenges have been previously identified and addressed, some have not been acknowledged from a comprehensive view accounting for unprecedented interactions between challenges and specific populations. The logistics of equitable widespread vaccine distribution in disparate populations and countries of various economic, racial, and cultural constitutions must be thoroughly examined and accounted for. We also describe unique challenges regarding the efficacy of vaccines in specialized populations including children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. Furthermore, we report the potential for understudied drug-vaccine interactions as well as the possibility that certain vaccine platforms may increase susceptibility to HIV. Given these complicated issues, the importance of privacy-focused, user-centric systems for vaccine education and incentivization along with clear communication from governments, organizations, and academic institutions is imperative. These challenges are by no means insurmountable, but require careful attention to avoid consequences spanning a range of disease-related, individual, societal, economic, and security domains.

econ.GN↗