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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

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COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus first identified in late 2019. To help inform responses to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, RAND experts have assessed policy options and examined how different countries and communities have responded. Topics include health care capacity, telemedicine, misinformation, economic effects, vaccination equity, and the strain on educators and students.

Research Brief
Putting Equity First in COVID-19 Vaccination
COVID-19 vaccination rates were significantly lower in U.S. communities of color, contributing to stark inequities in the effects of the virus. The Equity-First Vaccination Initiative shows how a hyper-local approach can increase vaccine confidence and access to help close this gap.
Aug 24, 2022
Commentary
Vaccinating All Kids for COVID-19 May Demand a Block-by-Block Effort
Community-based organizations know how to register voters and increase census participation. Reaching out block by block, even door to door, they can be just as effective in boosting vaccination rates.
Aug 29, 2022

Explore Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Commentary
Commit Now to Get Summer Programming Right
When summer programs are targeted to needs, intentionally designed, and well attended, they produce positive outcomes in math and reading. But these programs need federal support, and they require early planning.
Apr 15, 2021
Commentary
Waking Up in a Post–COVID-19 World
When it comes to morning wake schedules, adjusting to post–COVID-19 life may be a challenge. Taking small steps now may help you prepare for the shock of returning to the morning rush.
Apr 14, 2021
Commentary
Supply Chains and National Security
Lessons from the pandemic will be sorted through for years. But one thing seems very clear: The United States is not ready in a policy or infrastructure or even physical-capacity sense to respond to major shocks to its supply chains.
Apr 12, 2021
Commentary
The Impact of the Pandemic on Demographic Trends
Key demographic trends in fertility, mortality, and migration are responsible for shifts in the overall structure of any population. COVID-19 has affected each of these, with potentially important implications.
Apr 12, 2021
Commentary
Who Can Effectively Champion the Vax?
Vaccine hesitancy appears to be one more hurdle in ending the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC would typically lead a campaign to overcome it, but Americans' trust in the CDC has declined measurably. Health care professionals may be more effective messengers when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines.
Apr 9, 2021
Commentary
Target Vaccine to 'High-Contact' People
Actively seeking out people with lots of contacts for vaccination could bring the epidemic under control much more quickly than vaccinating people at random. Vaccinating just 15 percent of the population would be enough to crush the epidemic—so long as it was the right 15 percent.
Apr 9, 2021
Blog
Trust in the CDC, Teaching Students with Disabilities, Russian Mercenaries: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses declining trust in the CDC, insights from educators about teaching students with disabilities, Russian mercenaries, and more.
Apr 9, 2021
Report
Lessons Learned from the Justice System's Pandemic Response
Incarcerated populations, corrections staff, court personnel, and law enforcement were hit hard by COVID-19. At the same time, national protests after the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans increased pressure for criminal justice reform. Insights from this time could help the justice system prepare for future challenges.
Apr 8, 2021
News Release
Public Trust of the Centers for Disease Control Falls During Coronavirus Pandemic
Public trust in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has fallen during the coronavirus pandemic, with the decline bringing overall population-level trust in the agency to the same lower level of trust long held by Black Americans about the agency.
Apr 5, 2021
Report
Trust in the CDC Declined During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From May to October 2020, some Americans lost trust in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drop in trust was particularly significant among people who intended to vote for a candidate other than Joe Biden in the 2020 election or did not intend to vote at all. This suggests that views of the CDC are now strongly politicized.
Apr 5, 2021
Commentary
Rescue Plan Help for Family Caregivers Is a First Step
Unpaid caregivers have been a critical part of the functioning U.S. economy, serving as the backbone of the health system, since long before the pandemic started. Adding them to the American Rescue Plan was an important step, but even after the pandemic is over, their financial security will need long-term protection.
Apr 5, 2021
Journal Article
SNAP Participants and High Levels of Food Insecurity in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic
We examined how people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly Black participants, and participants residing in food deserts.
Apr 2, 2021
Journal Article
Americans' View of the Impact of COVID-19: Perspectives on Racial Impacts and Equity
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disparate effect on African Americans and Latino groups. But how much public awareness is there of inequities? And how has the pandemic changed perceptions of equity and access to health care?
Mar 30, 2021
Blog
Supporting Asian Americans, U.S. Gun Policy, Climate Migrants: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how to support Asian Americans, the U.S. gun policy debate, the education “arms race,” and more.
Mar 26, 2021
News Release
Use of Common Cancer Screenings Rebounded Quickly After Dropping at Start of the Pandemic
Screenings for breast cancer and colon cancer dropped dramatically during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, but use of the procedures returned to near-normal levels by the end of July 2020.
Mar 22, 2021
Multimedia
The Role of Data in the Fight Against COVID-19
RAND senior physician policy researcher Mahshid Abir discusses the importance of accurate and efficient reporting of COVID-related outcomes in the fight against COVID-19.
Mar 22, 2021
Blog
Game Theory to Help the Vaccine Rollout, Abraham Accords, Telehealth: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how game theory can help the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, potential economic benefits of the Abraham Accords, telemedicine use during the pandemic, and more.
Mar 19, 2021
Journal Article
Who Is (and Isn't) Receiving Telemedicine Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 has affected telehealth utilization disproportionately. The increase in telemedicine use was greatest among patients in counties with low poverty levels, among patients in metropolitan areas, and among adults compared with children.
Mar 18, 2021
Commentary
Will States Take the Wrong Lesson About Unemployment Insurance's Failings?
By shoring up all state-run Unemployment Insurance programs equally, Congress set a precedent that it will intervene to raise benefits at no cost to state trust funds. From the states' perspective, why hike taxes on businesses to maintain robust unemployment benefits if Congress will step in when the economy goes south?
Mar 18, 2021
Testimony
Core Principles of Public Health Emergency Preparedness
Public health emergencies are defined by their consequences, not their causes. That means infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 qualify, but so do some hurricanes and terrorist attacks. What can policymakers do to support effective public health emergency preparedness?
Mar 16, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Topic Synonyms:
Corona Virus;
Coronavirus

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Rachel M. Burns

Senior Quantitative Analyst

Rachel M. Burns is a senior quantitative analyst at the RAND Corporation. During her tenure at RAND, she has worked on projects focused on disaster response and recovery operations, neighborhood influences on health, substance abuse and drug policy, unmanned aerial vehicles, the mental health…
Laura J. Faherty

Physician Policy Researcher

Laura Faherty (she/her) is a physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and attending physician at Maine Medical Center. Prior to joining RAND, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of…

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