Inder Singh and his company, Kinsa Health, are using nationwide temperature data to spot potential hot spots before they get out of control. When Inder Singh was striking deals with pharmaceutical companies to fight HIV and malaria a decade ago, reactions to outbreaks then were not unlike the global response to coronavirus now — reacting a few steps behind the deadly, fast-moving virus. Singh’s recent venture, smart thermometer company Kinsa Health, is designed to get ahead. With the launch Wednesday of a “Health Weather Map” drawing on data from the company’s hundreds of thousands of internet-connected thermometers across the country, Kinsa is telling anyone willing to listen — hello, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — exactly where flu-like illnesses are spiking at an anomalous rate, county by county across the U.S. Fevers are a leading indicator of a COVID-19 cluster that requires quick testing and, perhaps, quarantine. A first look shows the New York City area and most of Florida as the worst hot spots right now, with suspected flu-like illness running 2 percent higher than what would be expected in normal conditions. |