With more than half of American adults now vaccinated, the Great Reopening is in full swing. But before we forget about COVID-19 and hug it out, let’s look back – and look ahead.
One thing we can all agree on? Lockdowns weren’t great for anyone. Full stop.
The global economic toll of the 2020 lockdowns was staggering, with a disproportionate impact on many vulnerable groups that could least afford it. Millions stayed away from the doctor’s office, forgoing necessary interventions, checkups, and annual vaccinations out of fear of contracting COVID-19. And the social costs and mental health repercussions of the lockdowns continue to come to light.
Avoiding future lockdowns is of paramount importance.
When the next pandemic occurs (and there will be a next time), how do we keep from hiding in our homes? How do we retain a sense of normalcy in how we work, play, and live? How do we keep businesses open and employees gainfully employed?
In short, how do we shift from “sheltering in place” to mindful mobility?
Enter Pandemic Insights – and RoamWell
Pandemic Insights is building the tools that will make a difference. Through our RoamWell smartphone and desktop app, we’re equipping everyone with the trusted data and tailored advice they need to make smarter, faster, more insightful decisions. Day by day. Block by block. Building by building.
Our hyperlocal focus addresses a deficiency in the existing data. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC and other health agencies reported daily infection rates, deaths, and vaccination rates. But, for the average person, that information was too broad to be actionable.
As a result, no one could fully understand the risk of daily activities involving movement. Business owners had insufficient data to make important decisions. (Should my employees work remotely or return to the office? How do I make supply chain decisions that reduce infection risk while keeping my business running?) And policymakers were left in the dark as well, with no reliable risk management tool at the hyperlocal level.
Pandemic Insights strives to fix that. We are developing risk management solutions that empower localized decision-making and enable mindful movement. The technology will deliver predictive, actionable insights based on individual health risks and down-to-the-building-level virus exposure risk factors.
The result? Safer human, corporate, and government decisions that will reduce infection and deaths during any pandemic, anywhere in the world.
That’s a noble goal. So it’s no surprise – we’re not alone in striving to reclaim personal autonomy in the face of future pandemics. But our approach at Pandemic Insights is unique, in two important ways.
Reliable, hyperlocal data
The first is hyperlocal data. We’re tapping into the world’s most trusted data lakes, sourced from top-tier public health agencies, foundations, academic institutions, and other organizations. The proprietary, AI-driven tech that powers our RoamWell app synthesizes this anonymized data, making it granular enough to be not just useful, but indispensable.
As the app’s name implies, now you can roam more freely – while staying well.
You can know the safest route to take to the barbershop – or which barbershop, on which block, poses the least infection risk. As a business owner or HR manager, you can base your decision-making on hyperlocal data, down to your office building or the neighborhoods where many of your more vulnerable employees live.
To inform mindful mobility, data must be accurate, up to date – and hyperlocal.
Three key audiences, in concert
The second, defining characteristic that sets Pandemic Insights apart? An equal embrace of three critical audiences.
Asymmetrical access to (and understanding of) data led to friction in the last lockdown. When consumers, business decision-makers, and policymakers weren’t on the same page, trouble wasn’t far behind.
Pandemic Insights understands that affecting public behavior requires a shared understanding of the same hyperlocal data. We stand out in this regard. Our RoamWell app will offer tailored, actionable insights to three key audiences, simultaneously:
• Consumers Our RoamWell Mobile smartphone app facilitates healthy movement based on hyperlocal risk factors. (A free version is available to everyone.)
• Businesses Our RoamWell Business (SaaS platform) provides reliable, hyperlocal data to drive crucial operations decisions.
• Public sector Our RoamWell Index (DaaS platform) synthesizes localized data to illuminate day-to-day policymaking and allows third-party mobile apps to inform movement choices with data-based risk insights. (Think of a weather app that, instead of rain chances, shows you current and future infection risk as you consider travel, in town and abroad.)
Those three audiences are interrelated. Business owners and HR managers need their employees to have a shared set of facts to ensure understanding and compliance with data-driven company policies. The public sector can effect better policy when individuals have a fuller understanding of their rights, responsibilities, and opportunities to navigate a pandemic.
And for all three of those audiences, Pandemic Insight’s hyperlocal data is instrumental. Each constituency – consumers, business managers, and policymakers – is empowered to take action because the data mined by RoamWell shed light on city blocks and buildings – not just states and counties.
The fact is, COVID-19 impacted every person, family, business, government, and economy worldwide. So it stands to reason that a game-changing risk management tool would embrace key groups in concert.
The next lockdown, unlocked
By informing three vital audiences simultaneously, using hyperlocal data and powerful AI, the RoamWell app from Pandemic Insights equips everyone to make smarter, safer, and more insightful decisions. That’s true now, as we emerge from the cloud of COVID-19, and true in the future, when we will inevitably face future health threats.
Pandemic Insights seeks nothing less than to reduce the instance and impact of infectious disease worldwide.
Not just COVID-19, but any pathogen.
Not just in the United States, but in any country.
And most importantly, not just for the wealthy, but for everyone. We will always offer a free mobile app.
We are on a mission to change human behavior everywhere. Allowing people to retain personal freedom through mindful movement.
