Contact tracing for COVID-19 is critical to returning our nation to some semblance of normalcy, but we are far from a consensus on what effective, secure, cost-feasible and scalable contact tracing looks like. There are several documented, meaningful automated contact tracing efforts across the globe - not to mention more than 150 apps and initiatives in various stages of development. Getting contact tracing off the ground in the US is fraught with obstacles that are formidable, but not insurmountable. Among the thorniest is data privacy: if we can’t convince citizens that it’s safe and non-invasive to share information about who they’ve been in touch with, contact tracing will fail.
