Government Innovation in a Global Pandemic
NASA JPL engineers involved in creating VITAL, a ventilator prototype specially targeted to coronavirus disease patients. JPL-Caltech/NASA
In the crunch of a crisis, federal agencies unleashed bots, artificial intelligence, 3D printers and supercomputers to flatten the COVID-19 curve.
The coronavirus has altered every aspect of life and society across the nation, and its full impact probably won’t be known for years. More clear, however, is how numerous federal agencies have responded to a global pandemic with a rush of technical innovation, ushering in solutions to a wide variety of challenges never before encountered in the modern era.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, launched a health care bot available on its website for Americans to check themselves against potential COVID-19 symptoms in an effort to alleviate wait times as hospitals and doctor’s offices. Relatedly, the Veterans Affairs Department handled massive uptakes in telehealth and virtual mental health services, caring for veterans while reducing the risk of virus spread.
Agencies also teamed together to address nationwide challenges. Several agencies, including NASA, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, teamed together to accelerate 3D-printed protective gear and ventilators. In addition, national labs and private-sector companies volunteered supercomputing power to study how the virus spreads and research potential treatments and cures.
In this ebook, Nextgov shines a spotlight on these and other important innovative efforts undertaken by the federal government in response to the coronavirus.