August 2020

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Do Children Really Transmit COVID-19 Less Than Adults? The Evidence Is Questionable

The theory that children are unlikely to contract or spread COVID-19 may feel reassuring, but it's based on flawed science. Until more is known, adopting aggressive strategies to limit viral spread in schools is the best way to keep students and teachers safe.

Laura F. Garabedian, Rebecca Lee Haffajee

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Voting in a Pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service, Defunding the Police: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Americans' views about voting in the age of COVID-19, what makes the U.S. Postal Service so essential, why some in law enforcement may be open to “defunding the police,” and more.

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To Reopen Schools Safely, Prepare for New COVID-19 Test Capabilities

Safely reopening K–12 schools for in-person instruction requires complicated protocols ranging from symptom monitoring to physical distancing, as well as containment of transmission in the community. State policymakers and school leaders could begin planning now to draft, pilot, and evaluate protocols for reopening schools that incorporate rapid testing.

Peter S. Hussey, John J. Rydzewski

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Don't Entangle COVID-19 Relief with Cannabis Legalization

Cannabis legalization is a multifaceted decision that has implications for health, safety, and social equity. Whether legalization could fund COVID-19 relief should not be a major focus of debates.

Beau Kilmer @BeauKilmer

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Brain-Computer Interfaces Are Coming. Will We Be Ready?

Brain-computer interfaces give humans the ability to directly control machines with their minds. Before this emerging technology matures, it's important for developers to weigh the opportunities against the risks.

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A Stable Blood Supply Is Critical in the COVID-19 Era

Millions of lives depend on the U.S. blood supply. But no one knows exactly how much blood is in the system at any given time, or whether it's enough to meet demand. The federal government has no way to collect that data, and hospitals don't share it with each other. What can be done to strengthen the system?

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Industry Mix in L.A. Area Helps Explain Recent Record Unemployment Rates

The Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area reported more than 270,000 job cuts between March and early August. Considering which industries have cut jobs may provide a window into the area's unique labor market and help explain how the area currently has among the highest unemployment in the nation.

Jason M. Ward @jason_m_ward

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The United States Postal Service Is More 'Essential' Than You Thought

The U.S. Postal Service is an essential service that delivers mail to every address in the country, connects rural communities, and contributes to public safety. But it is still mistakenly thought of as a private business that should be able to turn a profit.

Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard, Lois M. Davis @LoisMDavis

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Police Officers: This Article Will Make You Better at Combatting Misinformation

By deliberately addressing misinformation, police officers can promote safe and healthy behaviors among those in their communities. The actions they take to combat misinformation and improve protections in their communities are a critical part of the collective campaign to end the pandemic and help people return to their normal lives.

John S. Hollywood @JohnS_Hollywood, Bob Harrison, et al.

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Too Interconnected to Fail

The 2007–08 financial crisis made regulators and lawmakers acutely aware that some financial institutions had become too big to fail. The next big economic crisis may arise outside the financial sector, in highly networked companies that are too interconnected to fail.

Jonathan W. Welburn @jwwelburn, Aaron Strong @resourceecon

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It's Going to Be the Vaccination, Stupid!

The increasingly positive news on COVID-19 vaccine development is also bringing growing alarm over whether Americans will trust these vaccines when they become available. While we were clearly not prepared for this virus, we now need to understand how we are going to roll out any proven vaccine.

Robert H. Brook, John J. Rydzewski

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Secretary Azar's Taiwan Visit Should Be Celebrated—for the Right Reasons

HHS Secretary Alex Azar's August 9th visit to Taiwan should be celebrated by Taipei and Washington as it presents the latest evidence that bilateral relations are significantly strengthening. But Taiwan should view the United States' moves to bolster bilateral ties with some measure of trepidation. U.S. objectives with Taiwan over the past few years remain unclear.

Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

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Radicalization, the Gender Pay Gap, Israel-UAE Deal: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the potential for a new era of radicalization, insights into the gender pay gap, why the Israel-UAE deal doesn’t merit the hype, and more.

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How State and Local Governments Might Consider Approaching Operational Design Domains for Automated Vehicles

An operational design domain (ODD) is a description of the conditions in which an autonomous vehicle is designed to operate safely. No nationwide ODD policy exists, but because ODD is partly about the characteristics of a specific location, state and local policies could be useful.

Laura Fraade-Blanar, Maynard A. Holliday

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Mobile Health Surveillance Is Here to Stay, So How Do We Protect Privacy?

Mobile phone surveillance can augment public health interventions to manage COVID-19 and might help countries prepare for the next outbreak. But these programs collect sensitive health and behavior data. That raises significant risks to personal privacy and civil liberties.

Benjamin Boudreaux