Gates Package — page 933

9 And in March 2020, correcting misperceptions and misinformation about vaccines. They're using computer models to see where they might need to send vaccinators next. <~?~Insert art 014_Gate_9780593534489_art_r1> Maps like these from the communications and outreach division managing the pandemic in San Francisco filled the walls as city workers battled the impact of COVID19 on the city. They know exactly which houses in the area have been visited by vaccinators. They even know how many households refuse to have their children vaccinated. The measurement is incredibly precise: Last year, the national coordinator of Pakistan's national EOC reported that they had reduced the refusal rate from 1.7 percent in 2020 to 0.8 percent the next year, and that in one campaign, just 0.3 percent of households had refused the vaccine.9 And in March 2020, the EOC pivoted to focus much of its work on COVID. In a sense, the GERM team would be a worldwide EOC on steroids. Just as emergency operations centers fight endemic diseases like polio while staying ready to pivot when something new emerges, the GERM team would do double duty as well--only with the focus reversed. Emerging diseases should be their top priority, but to keep their skills sharp, they would help out with polio, malaria, and other infectious diseases. You might have noticed one obvious activity that's missing from GERM's job description: treating patients. That's by design. GERM wouldn't need to replace the rapid response clinical experts like those at Médecins Sans Frontières. Its job would be to coordinate their efforts and complement their work by doing disease surveillance, computer modeling, and other functions. No one from GERM would be responsible for caring for patients.