Publicly available statistics about population demographics and culture can help governments prepare for the next pandemic.
In an article for The Conversation, Professor of Anthropology R. Alexander Bentley explained how government officials could have predicted the spread of COVID-19 through society using existing sociodemographic data from early hot spots.
Bentley explained that additional planning based on cultural and demographic factors can help predict how future outbreaks could progress. It can also reveal which people may be most vulnerable. Properly applied, this data-driven approach might save hundreds of thousands of lives when the next pandemic hits. Read the full article on The Conversation.
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Lindsey Owen (865-974-6375, lowen8@utk.edu)