{"648451":{"#nid":"648451","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Modeling Finds Relaxing Covid-19 Safety Protocols During Vaccination Period Risky","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new mathematical simulation has concluded that the continued practice of mask wearing and social distancing during ongoing vaccinations could help stem a potential surge in Covid-19 cases, particularly as more infectious variants emerge.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study was conducted collaboratively by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and North Carolina State University (NCSU). This includes \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/pinar-keskinocak\u0022\u003EPinar Keskinocak\u003C\/a\u003E, William W. George Chair and professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), as well as Julie Swann, department head of North Carolina State University\u0026rsquo;s Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers evaluated how many Covid-19 cases could be avoided in North Carolina if more people get vaccinated and continue to follow mask and physical distancing guidelines. They used an agent-based model originally developed at Georgia Tech for pandemic flu that was later adapted to Covid-19 and modified to test additional scenarios.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The main takeaway from the paper is that while the increasing vaccine coverage in the U.S. has a positive impact, we are not really there yet. We still need to follow preventive measures such as mask wearing,\u0026rdquo; said Keskinocak in the article.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESwann concurred, saying, \u0026ldquo;Current variants are more infectious, and there are still locations with less than 30% of the population vaccinated.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EYou can read more about their findings \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/news\/648393\/modeling-finds-relaxing-covid-19-safety-protocols-during-vaccination-period-risky\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe continued practice of mask wearing and social distancing during ongoing vaccinations could help stem a potential surge in Covid-19 cases, particularly as more infectious variants emerge.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The continued practice of mask wearing and social distancing during ongoing vaccinations could help stem a potential surge in Covid-19 cases, particularly as more infectious variants emerge."}],"uid":"35757","created_gmt":"2021-06-29 19:37:21","changed_gmt":"2021-07-08 14:06:01","author":"goberst3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-06-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"648450":{"id":"648450","type":"image","title":"Pinar Keskinocak and Julie Swann","body":null,"created":"1624995309","gmt_created":"2021-06-29 19:35:09","changed":"1624995309","gmt_changed":"2021-06-29 19:35:09","alt":"Pinar Keskinocak and Julie Swann","file":{"fid":"246173","name":"Pinar Keskinocak and Julie Swann.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Pinar%20Keskinocak%20and%20Julie%20Swann.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Pinar%20Keskinocak%20and%20Julie%20Swann.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":452311,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Pinar%20Keskinocak%20and%20Julie%20Swann.jpg?itok=rJ4zsQQL"}}},"media_ids":["648450"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"},{"id":"1250","name":"Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems (CHHS)"},{"id":"1243","name":"The Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:swundersmith3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EShelley Wunder-Smith\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EH. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}