Weitz Group

Investigating how viruses transform human health and the fate of our planet

Investigating how viruses transform human health and the fate of our planet.      

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Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool featured in the Wall Street Journal

December 20, 2021 by adavidson38 Leave a Comment

As the holiday season approaches, many are looking for ways to make sure their holiday celebrations are safe. Recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool is one of the many tools available to help you and your family make informed decisions this holiday season.

Follow the tool at @covid19riskUSA on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay up to date on additional media features, risk updates, and news.

More about the tool

Since its inception in July of 2020, over 8 million people have used the Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool to gauge Covid-19 exposure risk. Created by members of the Weitz Group, (Prof. Weitz, Dr. Stephen Beckett, and Quan Nguyen) in collaboration with the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory and Clio Andris, a professor of city and regional planning and interactive computing at Georgia Tech, this tool uses real-time Covid-19 case data to calculate the county-level risk of exposure to Covid-19 at events of different sizes. For example, the tool can estimate how likely it is that at least one person has Covid-19 at a 15-person Thanksgiving celebration.

As the tool has grown its development has continued. A new collaboration with cognitive neuroscientists at Duke University has led to the addition of interactive elements to the site. Users can now see examples of events of different sizes, such as noting that a 50-person event is similar to what one would encounter at a restaurant or a grocery store. People are also encouraged to test their knowledge of the risk levels in their area with a risk quiz.

To learn more about the science behind the tool, read our paper in Nature Human Behavior. Visit our Covid-19 Research page to learn more about our other research on Covid-19.

I’m worried about the risk in my area – what can I do?

If the risk levels in your area have you worried about seeing family over the holiday season, there are things you can do to reduce the chance of spreading Covid-19.

Get vaccinated. If you or your loved ones haven’t already, getting the Covid-19 vaccine will vastly reduce your chance of infection, the severity of breakthrough infections, and the risk of spreading infection.
Get tested. Even if you don’t have symptoms, some cases of Covid-19 are asymptomatic. Getting tested for Covid-19 will help ensure that you are not unknowingly exposing loved ones to the virus.
Wear a mask. Wearing a mask when possible will reduce the risk of spread.
Improve ventilation. Hosting celebrations outdoors when possible dramatically decreases the chance of spread. If that is not feasible, increasing ventilation in indoor areas by opening windows or using air purifiers can help.
Reduce the size of your gathering. With fewer people, the chances that at least one person has Covid-19 are reduced.
Keep your distance. Social distancing when possible is a great preventative step.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Covid-19, Infectious disease dynamics

Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool makes headlines as Thanksgiving approaches

November 23, 2021 by adavidson38 Leave a Comment

Last November the Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool made headlines as people around the United States planned their holiday travel amidst rising Covid-19 cases and uncertainty. Now, the tool is in the news again.

So far, the tool has been featured in national news outlets such as National Geographic, The Hill, and Fast Company, as well as in a number of regional news outlets, including:

  • CBS-17 in Raleigh, NC
  • The Courier Journal in Louisville, KY
  • The Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, WA
  • The Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, OH
  • The Des Moines Register in Des Moines, IA
  • The Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, MO
  • The Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ
  • Mass Live in Springfield, MA

 

Follow the tool at @covid19riskUSA to stay up to date on additional media features, risk updates, and news.

     

More about the tool

Since its inception in July of 2020, over 8 million people have used the Covid-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool to gauge Covid-19 exposure risk. Created by members of the Weitz Group, (Prof. Weitz, Dr. Stephen Beckett, and Quan Nguyen) in collaboration with the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory and Clio Andris, a professor of city and regional planning and interactive computing at Georgia Tech, this tool uses real-time Covid-19 case data to calculate the county-level risk of exposure to Covid-19 at events of different sizes. For example, the tool can estimate how likely it is that at least one person has Covid-19 at a 15-person Thanksgiving celebration.

As the tool has grown its development has continued. A new collaboration with cognitive neuroscientists at Duke University has led to the addition of interactive elements to the site. Users can now see examples of events of different sizes, such as noting that a 50-person event is similar to what one would encounter at a restaurant or a grocery store. People are also encouraged to test their knowledge of the risk levels in their area with a risk quiz.

To learn more about the science behind the tool, read our paper in Nature Human Behavior. Visit our Covid-19 Research page to learn more about our other research on Covid-19.

I’m worried about the risk in my area – what can I do?

If the risk levels in your area have you worried about seeing family over the holiday season, there are things you can do to reduce the chance of spreading Covid-19.

Get vaccinated. If you or your loved ones haven’t already, getting the Covid-19 vaccine will vastly reduce your chance of infection, the severity of breakthrough infections, and the risk of spreading infection.
Improve ventilation. Hosting celebrations outdoors when possible dramatically decreases the chance of spread. If that is not feasible, increasing ventilation in indoor areas by opening windows or using air purifiers can help.
Reduce the size of your gathering. With fewer people, the chances that at least one person has Covid-19 are reduced.
Keep your distance. Social distancing when possible is a great preventative step.
Wear a mask. Wearing a mask when possible will reduce the risk of spread.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Covid-19, Infectious disease dynamics

Prof. Weitz Interviewed for Wired Magazine about Predicting the Path of Covid-19

September 17, 2021 by adavidson38 Leave a Comment

Prof. Weitz recently shared his take on predicting the trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic in an article published in Wired Magazine. Discussing how the perceived risk of infection can impact human behavior, Prof. Weitz explained that this complex relationship makes predicting where the Covid-19 pandemic will head next difficult.

“The prevailing theme that continues to make things hard now is the interplay between disease state, how people react, and how people react over time.” –Joshua S. Weitz

To learn more about our work on this topic, read our paper in PNAS or view our other Covid-19 research.

Filed Under: Press Tagged With: Covid-19, Infectious disease dynamics

New paper on assessing population immunity to Covid-19 published in Annals of Epidemiology

September 9, 2021 by adavidson38 Leave a Comment

In collaboration with Benjamin Lopman‘s group at Emory University, our recent work entitled “A framework for monitoring population immunity to SARS-CoV-2” was published in Annals of Epidemiology. The proposed framework suggests combining records of vaccinations and natural infections to assess immunity to Covid-19 at the population level. A dashboard was also created to track estimates of population immunity at the state level.

Filed Under: Publication Tagged With: Covid-19, Infectious disease dynamics

New paper published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology

August 9, 2021 by adavidson38 Leave a Comment

In collaboration with researchers from Georgia Tech, Brown University, and the Technical University of Denmark, Prof Weitz has published a new paper entitled “Heterogeneity in susceptibility dictates the order of epidemic models” in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. This work examines the complicated relationship between susceptibility to infection and infection spread in epidemics, highlighting the need to “examine the shape of susceptibility in natural populations” to improve epidemic models.

Filed Under: Publication Tagged With: Covid-19, Infectious disease dynamics

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The Weitz Group

Investigating how viruses transform human health and the fate of our planet

310 Ferst Dr
School of Biological Sciences
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

Website developed by Audra Davidson for the Weitz Group, 2021. For more information on the group, contact Dr. Gabi Steinbach: gabi.steinbach (@) physics.gatech.edu

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