The National Academy of Social Insurance has named Ford School associate dean for academic affairs Paula Lantz to its COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Task Force Epidemiology Working Group.
The task force will examine the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the population, the society, and the economy, and the accompanying implications for social insurance programs in the United States. The epidemiology working group will examine the interrelationships among significant variables, including the possible duration and mutation of the Coronavirus, the development and timing of effective and accessible vaccines and treatments, and the extent to which individuals develop some degree of immunity, the Academy says.
Lantz, who was elected to the Academy in 2018, says, “I am honored to be part of an interdisciplinary Task Force that will be exploring the impacts on the COVID-19 epidemic on population health, the economy and our federal social insurance programs including Medicare, Social Security and Unemployment Insurance. With a strong focus on social equity issues, I am hopeful that our findings and recommendations will be useful to the new Biden administration and will help to mitigate the devastating effects of this pandemic.”
Beginning work in December, the Academy says its findings will be presented to the Chief Actuaries of the Social Security and Medicare programs as its primary initial audience in early 2021. This scientifically based understanding will assist in developing meaningful and credible effects on both social insurance programs, in advance of the Trustees Reports that are expected to be issued in April 2021.
