Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    Irregularities in COVID Reporting Contract Award Process Raises New Questions

    The administration awarded a contract for a COVID-19 database to TeleTracking Technologies using a process reserved for innovative research. Its CEO had links to the New York real estate world.
    by Dina Temple-Raston Jul 29, 2020 6 minutes
    An NPR investigation has identified unusual decisions around the process that lead to a Pittsburgh company winning a contract to gather COVID-19 data instead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    An NPR investigation has found irregularities in the process by which the Trump administration awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a Pittsburgh company to collect key data about Covid-19 from the country's hospitals.

    The contract is at the center of a controversy over the Administration's decision to move that data reporting function from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which has tracked infection information for a range of illnesses for years — to the Department of Health and Human Services.

    TeleTracking Technologies, the company that won the contract, has traditionally focused on creating software for hospitals to track patient status. And there are questions about how it came to be responsible for gathering data in the midst of a pandemic.

    Among the findings of the NPR investigation:

    • The Department of Health and Human Services initially characterized the contract with TeleTracking as a no-bid contract. When asked about that, HHS said there was a "coding error" and that the contract was actually competitively bid.
    • The process by which HHS awarded the contract is normally used for innovative

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR4 min read
    Magic, Secrets, And Urban Legend: 3 New YA Fantasy Novels To Read This Spring
    A heist with a social conscience, a father using magic for questionable work, an urban legend turned sleepover dare: These new releases explore protagonists embracing the magic within themselves.
    NPR3 min readWorld
    The Eurovision Song Contest Kicked Off With Pop And Protests
    Performers representing countries across Europe and beyond took the stage in the first of two Eurovision semifinals in the Swedish city of Malmo, against a backdrop of both parties and protests.
    NPR4 min read
    A Lawmaker With A Brain Disease Used Voice Assist To Back Her Bill On The House Floor
    Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia was diagnosed last year with rare disease that makes it hard to speak. She still advocated for a bill renaming a post office in her district – and the House passed it.

    Related Books & Audiobooks