Center for Outbreak Response Innovation (CORI) debuts TV broadcast series that delivers respiratory virus disease forecasts to public

February 27, 2024 – Last night, the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation (CORI) debuted the first in a series of broadcasts at WBZ-TV Boston involving infographics that deliver current respiratory virus disease forecasts to viewers within the station’s broadcast area.

The CORI team, based at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, supplies TV partners with infographics and talking points for area-specific respiratory disease forecasts, to be delivered live by meteorologists during weathercasts. The data used to generate these forecasts comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its academic partners in the National Outbreak Analytics & Disease Modeling Network, of which CORI is a member.

This effort, led by Senior Scholar Dr. Eric Toner, is forming collaborations across the nation to incorporate disease forecasting into weather broadcasts in the upcoming months, with more TV partners to join soon.

CORI, led by Senior Scholars Drs. Caitlin Rivers and Crystal Watson, aims to build partnerships nationwide and train individuals in epidemic response tools while engaging diverse groups including public health departments, elected leaders, and meteorologists.

Watch a recording of last night’s broadcast on WBZ-TV Boston here.

For media inquiries, email Cagla Giray at cgiray1@jhu.edu