Is getting pregnant “medically necessary” right now?

We have no idea how to manage all the testing data we're collecting

Sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise The Download Your daily dose of what’s up in emerging technology 05.07.20 Good morning! Today: how the pandemic has derailed fertility treatments, and how do we untangle the mess of testing data in the US? Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Is getting pregnant “medically necessary” right now?   Kate and her husband had been pursuing fertility treatments for nearly a year. On Friday, March 13, the management of the hospital where she works as a nurse anaesthetist announced the cancellation of all elective surgeries. She was supposed to have an appointment the following Monday at a private clinic to prepare for her sixth egg retrieval. That weekend, Kate told her husband she was sure the appointment would be canceled. When Monday arrived, Kate’s appointment, to her surprise, was still on. But the day after her appointment, her clinic sent her an email: the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the fertility industry’s principal professional body, had recommended suspending all new treatment cycles in light of the rapidly spreading virus. Her egg retrieval was canceled. “I still haven’t quite been able to articulate how it feels,” Kate told me in early April. She is 41 years old, and feels her chances of having children are diminishing with each month that goes by.  Kate is one of tens of thousands of patients whose fertility treatments have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. These treatments can be emotionally fraught at the best of times: a triangulation of risks and probabilities, girded by hope and desperation. The stakes are inherently high: thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in costs, and invasive hormone treatments with potentially severe side effects, all for the hope of a much-wanted baby. The pandemic confronts patients and health-care providers with new ethical dilemmas. Is it too risky to pursue a fertility procedure when there’s a deadly virus going around? And might it divert medical resources from urgent covid-19 care? In a fast-growing and increasingly lucrative industry, those questions are now creating a schism that could last long after the crisis is over. Read the full story.  —Anna Louie Sussman We have no idea how to manage all the testing data we’re collecting The situation: Public health is a decentralized system in the US. In the case of covid-19, there’s no consistent standard for how states should collect and report the data. Individual states decide how they want to handle testing—including how to collect, organize, and report the results. And that can be a problem. Disparities: Every state health department reports the number of positive and negative tests. Beyond that, there are tons of disparities. Some collect demographic or geographic information. Others don’t. This mishmash of approaches and standards is causing delays in the US response to the pandemic. Things like contact tracing depend on real-time testing information, but that’s hard to get when no one is reporting it the same way. How do we solve this mess?: The good news is we don’t have to invent something new. Read the full story.   —Neel V. Patel We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + Listen to Stephen Fry, Daniel Radcliffe, and Eddie Redmayne reading Harry Potter.   + A bear in a bathtub.   + Why are interspecies friendships so darn cute?   + There’s a campaign underway to turn the BBC’s theme tune into a banging remix. Sponsor Message Nine steps to the new normal An IT response to Covid-19 demands both an immediate crisis management plan and longer-term strategy that readies a company to succeed in a changed world. Here’s a nine-step guide. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 An AI algorithm inspired by how kids learn is harder to confuse Instead of being bombarded with lots of data all at once, it learns in stages. (TR) 2 Llamas could be our secret weapon against coronavirus Their blood contains antibodies that show early promise in blocking the virus from infecting cells. (WP $) 3 Facebook has announced the first 20 members of its “Supreme Court” The independent body will be able to overturn the company’s content moderation decisions. (CNBC)   + The former editor of The Guardian has explained why he agreed to join. (OneZero)   + The board is designed so other companies could use it. (Protocol) 4 There’s no clear evidence that there’s more than one strain of coronavirus One unpublished and unreviewed study is insufficient. (The Atlantic)   + Scientific research on the virus is being released in a torrent. (The Economist $) 5 Doctors are sick of dealing with conspiracy theorists Frankly, they shouldn’t even bother engaging. (NBC) 6 Uber is laying off 14% of its staff Demand for rides has plummeted. (CNN)   + Airbnb has let 25% of its workforce go. (The Next Web) 7 Desperate for a hug? Maybe tech can help 🤖 Ah, the lovely soothing feeling of embracing a chunk of cold metal. (Slate) 8 A black hole 1,011 light years away is the closest ever discovered Your friendly neighborhood black hole—and you can see it from here. (National Geographic) 9 How “Karen” became the ultimate insult It started as a protest against racism. Now it’s a catch-all for any woman you don’t like. (The Atlantic) 10 Google employees can’t expense food while working from home  🎻 (CNBC) The only constant in business is change. Technology changes everything. To succeed, you must understand and adapt. Join our virtual conference, EmTech Next, for an in-depth examination of the technologies impacting business and industry over the next 12 months. Purchase your ticket today. Quote of the day "We asked for tests, and they sent us a box of body bags." —Esther Lucero, chief executive officer of the Seattle Indian Health Board, tells NBC she was stunned by the response to their appeals for help from federal health agencies. Top image credit: INA JANG Please send life-saving llamas to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? 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