Digital Smartphone Tracking for COVID-19- Public Health and Civil Liberties in Tension IG Cohen et al, JAMA, may 27, 2020

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 Coronavirus

Digital Smartphone Tracking for COVID-19- Public Health and Civil Liberties in Tension
IG Cohen et al, JAMA, may 27, 2020

This Viewpoint compares manual and digital strategies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contact tracing, describes how countries in Asia and Europe have used smartphone tracking, and discusses privacy and discrimination concerns and strategies for balancing public health and civil liberties in the US.

Modeling Epidemics With Compartmental Models
J Tolles et al, JAMA, May 27, 2020

This paper reviews the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model for predicting the course of infectious disease outbreaks, which describes the transition of individuals from susceptible to infected and from infected to recovered, and discusses the model’s limitations, including oversimplification of complex disease processes.

SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Genetics Reveals a Variable Infection Gradient in the Respiratory Tract
YJ Hou et al Cell May 26, 2020

We utilized a reverse genetics system to explore SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. High-sensitivity RNA in situ mapping revealed the highest ACE2 expression in the nose with decreasing expression throughout the lower respiratory tract, paralleled by a striking gradient of SARS-CoV-2 infection in proximal (high) vs distal (low) pulmonary epithelial cultures.

Mass-surveillance technologies to fight coronavirus spread: the case of Israel
M Amit et al, Nature, May 26, 2020

MINERVA: A facile strategy for SARS-CoV-2 whole genome deep sequencing of clinical samples
C Chen et al, BIORXIV, May 26, 2020

Controlling the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, insights from large scale whole genome sequences generated across the world
J Phelan et al, BIORXIV May 26, 2020

SARS-CoV-2 genome evolution exposes early human adaptations
ES Wright et al, BIORXIV, May 26, 2020

Digital Herd Immunity and COVID-19
VB Bulchandani et al, MEDRXIV, May 26, 2020

Host genetics may provide some answers to COVID-19, but only with the right questions
P Duggal et al, Medium blog, May 26, 2020

Large-scale biobanks and longitudinal cohorts provide rich medical histories with existing genetic data and the ability to recontact and test participants. Also, prospective studies that are able to capture clinical data may identify genes that influence different subgroups of COVID-19 individuals like those with thrombolytic events or neuro involvement.