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60 Minutes update: "Outbreak Science"

60 Minutes update: "Outbreak Science"
60 Minutes update: "Outbreak Science" 00:41

An update of a story from last April called "Outbreak Science." Bill Whitaker looked at researchers harnessing artificial intelligence and other technology to detect and track infectious diseases before they become pandemics.

Dylan George, a scientist who tracked outbreaks for the Bush and Obama administrations, called for a government agency to forecast infectious outbreaks the way the National Weather Service forecasts storms.

Outbreak Science: Using artificial intelligence to track the coronavirus pandemic 13:17

"We need to think broadly about how we can move these things forward," George said. "This kind of a center would help do that."

This month, tucked within the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, is a provision establishing that forecasting agency.

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