Making the COVID Commitment

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the globe, its impacts have rippled through nearly every aspect of daily life. From ventilator shortages to school closures to unemployment, the scope of the tragedy is enormous and its effects will be long lasting. This is true even for those whose friends and family are lucky enough to escape the health effects of the disease itself.

The VACLab is not immune from these challenges. Many of us have family in past or present hotspots around the world, from China to the New York City region. We also have local effects with the University campus closing; our normal routine of research disrupted; our courses delayed and moved online; and the general anxiety brought on by social distancing measures and the worry of what the disease might mean for those we love.

Yet despite these challenges, the VACLab has mobilized in response to the global pandemic. Looking for ways to give back to our communities, VACLab teammates have temporarily put aside some of our research projects to focus on service projects in collaboration with local partners responding to COVID-19.

We’ll feature a few of these in upcoming posts here on our website. We’ve already posted about one public-facing project and another private effort on a dashboard project in collaboration wtith NC DHHS. This third post in the series focuses on a second public-facing project.

Click the image to visit CovidCommitment.org.

VACLab PhD student Alex Rich used his background in aviation crash investigation and data visualization to design a tool to help nudge Americans toward flattening the curve. He worked with his friend Cameron Yick to build a tool that lets anyone in America see the COVID-19 cases within an hour’s drive of them and make the COVID Commitment: 5 easy steps to stop the spread of the virus.

The site, CovidCommitment.org, has been lauded by famed behavioral economist Dan Ariely, who has requested the team’s help in expanding the tool internationally.