Covid Tracking System Apple and Google saved thousands of lives, research shows

According to a study recently published in Nature, the Covid tracking system created in collaboration between Apple and Google has helped save thousands of lives in the UK. The app NHS Covid-19 use the API created by companies to perform contact tracing of users, send local alerts and check in on visited points.

The NHS Covid-19 app is used by 16,5 million people (28% of the total population) in the UK, and notifies recent contacts of a user who has tested positive for coronavirus. Between September 24 and December 2020, the app sent 1,7 million exposure notifications. The study found that the app's Covid tracking system Apple and Google prevented between 4.200 and 8.700 deaths in England and Wales.

Study used data from Apple and Google and the English health system

The study on the epidemiological impact of the NHS app used two complementary approaches to calculate the number of Covid infections averted: a “model” based on the number of notifications and secondary attack rate (SAR), and data from local health authorities.

Using the “model” approach, the study found that 284 cases of infection were averted, while the “statistical” approach, using government data, puts the number of cases averted at 594. Based on these figures, researchers suggest that the NHS Covid-19 app prevented between 4.200 and 8.700 deaths in the country.

The study also says that the statistical approach is closer to reality, as the app helps users “keep a greater distance from each other than they would normally do, as they are aware that the app is monitoring distance, and can then advise them to quarantine”. The researchers claim that the NHS app is more effective than other apps of its kind, as the NHS’s Covid tracking system Apple and Google is fully integrated with the UK's public health system's records of disease test results.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, the Coronavírus-SUS contact tracing app, which also uses the Apple and Google, failed due to lack of publicity, with only 5% of the population downloading the application.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Android Central

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