
COVID Spurs Calls for Thermometers at Airports
Airlines want the TSA to screen passengers for a fever. It's a dicey proposition, risking travelers outrage for a procedure that experts say won't keep COVID off planes.
Airlines want the TSA to screen passengers for a fever. It's a dicey proposition, risking travelers outrage for a procedure that experts say won't keep COVID off planes.
It should come as little surprise that the novel coronavirus outbreak has led to the disruption - to one extent or another - of countless industries. However, some may be surprised to learn that one such sector is the pharmaceutical industry and, more specifically, the global supply chain it relies on to conduct business on an ongoing basis.
Assistant Professor of Public Policy Soroush Saghafian, whose academic interests include applying operations research methods to health care management, has been working with the government of Bahrain to analyze the effectiveness of policies to address the coronavirus. Saghafian, who is a faculty affiliate of the Harvard PhD program in health policy and the Harvard Center for Health Decision Science, cautions that no one policy is best in all cases—and that governments must weigh cost and quality of life considerations. However, he says that closing businesses like cinemas and gyms for four months could be one of the most low-cost and effective measures. Saghafian shared analysis that he and his former PhD student (now an assistant professor of statistics and family medicine at Michigan State University) Alireza Boloori conducted in an HKS faculty working paper, “COVID-19: What Intervention Policies Are Most Effective? A Brief Report Using Data from Government of Bahrain.”
David Simchi-Levi, professor of engineering systems at MIT, talks about what’s next for supply chains, as the U.S. looks to reopen businesses after the coronavirus quarantine.
Now that Gov. Phil Murphy has reopened the Jersey Shore for the Memorial Day holiday, will the crowds come? Experts and a poll said people are more likely to drive to the beach at Belmar than fly to French riviera. Another temptation to get them out of the house are lower than normal gas prices. But it will be a gradual transition from coronavirus staycation to vacation.
Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
443-757-3565
An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.
With seemingly no limit to the demand for artificial intelligence, everyone in the energy, AI, and climate fields is justifiably worried. Will there be enough clean electricity to power AI and enough water to cool the data centers that support this technology? These are important questions with serious implications for communities, the economy, and the environment.
It’s college graduation season, which means over 4 million seniors will graduate in the next few weeks, flooding the job market with new candidates. One area that has shown high potential for the right candidates is artificial intelligence and machine learning. Both disciplines are part of the larger data and analytics career path.
Drugs being explicitly developed to treat rare diseases are getting more expensive.
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.
The recent US-China agreement to temporarily reduce tariffs is a major step for global trade, with tariffs on US goods entering China dropping from 125% to 10% and on Chinese goods entering the US decreasing from 145% to 30% starting May 14. While this has boosted markets and created optimism, key industries like autos and steel remain affected, leaving businesses waiting for clearer long-term trade policies.
With sweeping new tariffs on Chinese-made products set to take effect this summer, Americans are being urged to prepare for price hikes on everyday goods. President Donald Trump's reinstated trade policies are expected to affect a wide swath of consumer imports, including electronics, furniture, appliances, and baby gear. Retail experts are advising shoppers to act before the tariffs hit and prices rise.
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.