Six months ago, very few of us had heard of a Contact Tracer. At the beginning of 2020 there were approximately 2,200 trained contact tracers in the United States employed by state health departments. Fast forward and organizations both private and public are scrambling to hire upwards of 100,000 new Contract Tracers to keep COVID-19 at a manageable level.
What is contact tracing?
Contact tracing is used to break chains of transmission and to prevent new cases of transmission during pandemic outbreaks. COVID-19 has created a need for trained, certified Contract Tracers to help States and Counties slow the spread. The World Health Organization breaks down contact tracing in 3-basic steps https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/contact-tracing.
During the current COVID-19 pandemic where we are already seeing widespread infection across multiple cities, the United States is lacking in trained staff or volunteers to carry out contact tracing efforts. This is a problem.
Dr. Gregory Poland, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert, explains why contact tracing is important in the fight against COVID-19. Courtesy "Gregory Poland, M.D/Vaccine Research Group/Mayo Clinic."
Why are so many Contact Tracer needed?
It is estimated that a baseline of 15 Contact Tracers is needed for every 100,000 of Population. Researchers at the Milken Institute School of Public Health developed a tool to determine the number of COVID-19 contact tracers needed across the United States.
The tool shows the number of contact tracers needed at the national, state and county level when applying variables. The numbers support the need for the push to hire contact tracers.
Is this role here to stay?
Time will tell. It is impossible to predict the timeline of pandemic, with many states still experiencing “wave 1” no one can really tell how long this will last. One thing is for certain, as long as the pandemic is here, there is a strong need for Contact Tracers to help slow the ongoing spread of today’s pandemic and tomorrows unknown.
How do Corporations, State & City Governments staff Contact Tracers?
Hiring contact tracers can be an overwhelming task. It can be baffling to recruit, hire, train and onboard numbers of new staff, especially when you are not in the staffing business. Most companies have gone virtual with their staff, making it more difficult to onboard new employees and provide the support for a new role within the organization.
If your core business is not contract tracing or staffing, consider partnering with a company that has the infrastructure, knowledge and operational support to get the job done quickly and effective for you.
The Connection can help. We understand the immediate need to staff this critical position and get it right. We have Certified Contact Tracers waiting to assist you. Want to know more? Contact Tracing Outsource
