Why contact tracing efforts have failed to curb COVID-19 transmission in much of the U.S.

By late April 2020, public discourse in the U.S. had shifted toward the idea of using more targeted case-based mitigation tactics (e.g., contact tracing) to combat COVID-19 transmission while allowing for the safe "re-opening" of society, in an effort to reduce the social, economic, and political ramifications associated with stricter approaches. Expanded tracing-testing efforts were touted as a key solution that would allow for a precision approach, thus preventing economies from having to shut down again. However, it is now clear that many regions of the U.S. were unable to mount robust enough testing-tracing programs to prevent major resurgences of disease. This viewpoint offers a discussion of why testing-tracing efforts failed to sufficiently mitigate COVID-19 across much of the nation, with the hope that such deliberation will help the U.S. public health community better plan for the future.