Corona Virus

Featured

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus first identified in late 2019. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting nearly every facet of daily life and claiming lives across the globe.

As leaders grapple with how to respond, RAND experts seek to address and inform policy options and examine how different countries and communities are managing the crisis. Topics include health care capacity, telemedicine, social distancing, countering misinformation, economic effects, school closures, and online learning.

Report

Implications of the Pandemic for Terrorist Interest in Biological Weapons

May 31, 2022

Some policymakers and analysts have expressed concern that weaknesses in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic will motivate terrorists to seek biological weapons. While the prospect of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda pursuing biological weapons is not zero, it is unlikely, given the difficulties involved and the availability of simpler alternatives.
Report

Exploration of Early COVID-19 Responses in Select Middle East Nations

Mar 24, 2022

Prior to the pandemic, many countries in the Middle East struggled with health care capacity and access. COVID-19 placed significant additional strain on health care delivery in the region. What common challenges did Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, and Tunisia face in their pandemic responses?

Explore Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Commentary

Learning, Relearning, and Not Learning the Lessons of COVID-19

Several recent announcements have demonstrated how little has been learned from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the potential need for a national reckoning to assess shortfalls and develop recommendations for preparing for and responding to future pandemics and other biological risks. To this end, the United States should create a national commission—not unlike the 9/11 Commission—to develop a way forward.

Aug 12, 2022
Commentary

Educators' Poor Morale Matters, Even If They Don't Quit. Here's Why

State and district education leaders can take steps now to reduce teacher principal stress this fall in two ways: Recognize that job-related stress is systemic and that educators closer to the classroom may experience more of it, and talk with teachers and principals about the sources of stress in their job, and what could alleviate them.

Aug 11, 2022
Report

Educators' Views on Politicized Topics in School

A survey in January 2022 asked educators about policies for COVID-19 safety in schools and classroom conversations about race, racism, or bias. Almost half of principals and 40 percent of teachers reported that the intrusion of political issues and opinions added stress to their jobs.

Aug 10, 2022
Journal Article

Playing Defense? Health Care in the Era of Covid

This paper presents evidence that the quality of health care interactions changed in important ways during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jul 28, 2022
Multimedia

Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy with Research

RAND senior physician policy researcher Courtney Gidengil reveals the biggest driver behind the hesitancy to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Jul 26, 2022
Commentary

South Korea's Extraordinary Fertility Decline

The complicated history of family planning as well as socioeconomic and political factors may all play roles in depressing birth rates in South Korea. But the nation's fertility decline is just one piece in a complicated gender puzzle.

Jul 22, 2022
Blog

U.S. Labor Market, 988 Hotline, Firearm Homicides: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the U.S. economy’s uneven pandemic recovery, a new national mental health hotline, firearm homicides, and more.

Jul 22, 2022
Commentary

Tunisia: Challenges and Successes in COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Tunisia's response to the COVID pandemic has been spotty, though vaccination rates have improved and mortality rates have dropped. When the political instability is factored in, Tunisia's emergence from the pandemic may not be quick.

Jul 22, 2022
Journal Article

Assessing the Implementation of Digital Innovations in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to Address Key Public Health Functions: Scoping Review of Academic and Nonacademic Literature

In this study, scoping reviews of academic and nonacademic literature were undertaken to obtain an overview of the evidence regarding digital innovations implemented to address key public health functions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jul 21, 2022
Report

School Districts Still Struggled in Year Three of the Pandemic

Ninety percent of school districts changed operations in 2021–2022 because of teacher shortages. They increased substitute teacher pay and their number of staff above prepandemic levels. They also struggled with political polarization around critical race theory, student and staff mental health, and student learning loss.

Jul 19, 2022
Commentary

U.S. Jobs Rebounded, but Not for Everyone

The U.S. labor market is on track to hit a milestone this month or next: It will have recovered all of the jobs lost in the pandemic recession. But the pandemic recession and its recovery treated men and women differently, and treated women of color differently from white women.

Jul 18, 2022
Report

Superintendents Have High Job Satisfaction and Normal Turnover Rates

Although 95 percent of superintendents agreed that their job has gotten harder over the past decade, 85 percent of them were satisfied with their job as of spring 2022. The rate of those planning to leave their positions is on par with prepandemic levels.

Jul 12, 2022
Report

Technical Documentation for the Fifth American School District Panel Survey

This report provides technical information about the spring 2022 survey of the American School District Panel. The authors describe the survey administration and weighting processes they used to produce nationally representative estimates.

Jul 12, 2022
Visualization

American School District Panel Interactive Survey Results Tool: Spring 2022 COVID-19 Survey Results

This tool allows users to compare superintendents' responses to the final section of the spring 2022 survey. Charts display results for all respondents and by district type, locale, student race and ethnicity, and district poverty level.

Jul 12, 2022
Periodical

RAND Review: July-August 2022

Features explore environmental racism; the economic value to the UK of improving languages education in schools; and causes of civilian harm in Raqqa, Syria, and ways to reduce civilian casualties in current and future military operations.

Jul 8, 2022
Blog

Overturning Roe, a New Mental Health Hotline, Russia: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how repealing Roe v. Wade could affect women in the military, whether America is prepared to launch a new emergency mental health hotline, Russia's war in Ukraine, and more.

Jul 1, 2022
Journal Article

US Health Care Workforce Changes During the First and Second Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Health care employment levels declined from 22.2 million in 2019 to 21.1 million, in 2020 but rebounded to 21.8 million in second quarter of 2021.

Jun 22, 2022
Journal Article

American Single Father Homes: A Growing Public Health Priority

This commentary highlights the need for public health, child welfare and healthcare to pay more attention to fathers and their role in parenting/child development.

Jun 22, 2022
Report

How Available and Accessible Are Mental Health Services in NYC?

Across the United States and in New York City in particular, the use of mental health services is low and care is not equitably distributed. Non-Hispanic white individuals are more likely to seek care than non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic individuals. Provider shortages and a lack of integration across service settings are two barriers, and COVID-19 exacerbated these challenges.

Jun 22, 2022
Commentary

Jordan: Challenges and Successes in COVID-19 Pandemic Response

Lockdown restrictions that may have contributed to low COVID-19 case numbers in Jordan early in the pandemic resulted in economic stresses and increased psychological distress in the general population. RAND researchers identified challenges faced by Jordanians during the crisis and the country's innovative and equitable response to mitigate them.

Jun 20, 2022

RAND Topic:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Topic Synonyms:
Corona Virus;
Coronavirus

Corona Virus

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Explore Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

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