New York remains committed to contact tracing despite dropoffs elsewhere

As contact tracing ebbs in parts of US, NYC stays committed NEW YORK (AP) — Coronavirus contact tracing programs across the U.S. scaled back their ambitions as cases surged in winter, but New York City has leaned into its $600 million tracing... AP NEWS

NEW YORK (AP) — Coronavirus contact tracing programs across the U.S. scaled back their ambitions as cases surged in winter, but New York City has leaned into its $600 million tracing initiative.

The city hired more tracers during the holiday season surge and in early March hit its goal of reaching at least 90% of people who test positive, a mark it hadn’t reached since around Thanksgiving. Last week, the number hit 96%.

Overwhelmed tracing programs elsewhere confronted the wave by switching to automated calls, limiting the types of cases they trace or telling infected people simply to reach out to their contacts themselves.

But New York remains committed, saying tracing helped curb the city’s second surge and is all the more necessary now as vaccination campaigns race to outpace the spread of worrisome viral variants.

“This is the danger zone, where we can’t let our guard down,” contact tracing chief Dr. Ted Long says.

Still, considerable challenges remain. Less than half of people who test positive name anyone they might have exposed to the virus. Some stop answering a blizzard of follow-ups meant to ensure they’re staying isolated.

There’s some debate among public health experts over whether local governments should cut back on contact tracing and focus more on vaccination. ...

In Philadelphia, tracers were stretched so thin that they tried to reach just half of new cases as of early February — and fewer lately as most staffers temporarily switched to helping with vaccination call centers and distribution, Public Health Department spokesman Matt Rankin said.

Chicago began automating calls and instructing recipients to notify their own contacts in December, conducting in-person interviews only in clusters and for cases deemed priorities, according to Health Department spokesperson Alyse Kittner. Automation is enabling the city to reach over 90% of newly diagnosed people, she said.  ...