Contact tracing and a failure to communicate

Earlier this year, I joined a team of social entrepreneurs, technology experts, data scientists, economists and more in an all-volunteer collaboration called #TestAndTrace to promote testing and contact tracing to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As the communications leader for the campaign, I oversaw efforts to create and disseminate useful content based on our own data and analysis to support Covid-19 response efforts. We also made it a priority to partner with health experts to signal-boost credible recommendations and commentary on combatting the virus. (Sign up to receive the bi-weekly #TestAndTrace newsletter if you’re interested in more information.)

I came across an announcement today from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy that encapsulated one of the demoralizing takeaways from what was a generally rewarding experience working with a group of sharp collaborators:

Contact Tracing Update:

We now have approximately 3,000 contact tracers on the ground.

Nearly 70% of individuals refuse to cooperate with our contact tracers.

This is not a witch hunt. This is about protecting you, your loved ones, and your community.

Take the call. pic.twitter.com/1bSzYzgdez

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) November 30, 2020

Deploying thousands of contact tracers should represent a massive leap forward in a state’s capacity to address the spread of Covid-19. It’s a significant investment on the part of the New Jersey state government and the kind of outcome that our campaign would consider ideal. Nevertheless, a lack of cooperation from the public is undercutting the program’s effectiveness almost entirely.

Frankly, it’s easy to understand why so many people today are unwilling to “take the call,” in Murphy’s words. We’re inundated with annoying robocalls from scam artists, solicitors and political campaigns. Meanwhile, we’re learning more about improper commercial use of our personal data, which naturally makes people wary when someone calls asking for sensitive information. And what about keeping that data secure from hackers?

In other words, friction from the public over contact tracing was completely foreseeable. In fact, the likelihood of contact tracers hitting this roadblock came up routinely in my early meetings with the #TestAndTrace group and others. Yet, robust public education about the mechanics of contact tracing appeared to be absent, along with messaging to encourage participation.

Sinking resources into quality programs won’t accomplish much if the public doesn’t understand how they work or why they’re important. Without a robust communications component, contact tracing in the U.S. was doomed before it started.