Mission: To review and evaluate research and statistical data on SARS-CoV-2 on an ongoing basis in order to develop behavioral strategies for (a) stopping the spread of the virus, (b) eradicating the virus from the population, and (c) reopening the economy quickly and safely. Long-term, AIBRT is committed to developing behavioral strategies that can be used to suppress new pathogens quickly and safely without shutting down schools and economies. We are currently working with collaborators at other institutions to perform a clinical trial of a behavioral intervention that has the potential to eradicate SARS-CoV-2 and comparable pathogens.

Progress: On March 25, 2020, AIBRT researcher Dr. Robert Epstein published a comprehensive plan - now called the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP) plan - for quickly stopping the transmission of the virus, eradicating it from the population, and reopening the economy without the need for social distancing or a vaccine. A mathematical model he developed with associates was accepted for publication by Frontiers in Public Health, a peer reviewed journal, on February 9, 2021.  The model suggests that CSP will eradicate or dramatically slow the spread of the virus even if compliance with the plan is only moderate. 

Click the thumbnail at left to see an expanded diagram that summarizes the Carrier Separation Plan pictorially.

Scroll down the current page to see the plan summarized in 16 bullet points, along with mockups of a possible test device.

Media coverage: Here, in reverse chronological order, is a list of Dr. Epstein's recent articles and national media appearances regarding the Carrier Separation Plan:

April 2023: Epstein, R., Bock, S., Huang, Y., & Wang, N. It’s complicated: The relationship between COVID-19 and mental health problems. Paper presented at the 103rd annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Riverside, CA. 

February 9, 2021: Peer-reviewed article accepted for publication in Frontiers in Public Health. Epstein, R., Houser, C., & Wang, R. "How SARS-CoV-2 and Comparable Pathogens Can Be Defeated in a Single Day: Description and Mathematical Model of the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP)." Downloadable preprint originally posted on SSRN, December 11, 2020.

Summer 2021: Article in Penthouse (Australian edition), "The Real Coronavirus Conspiracy"

June 8, 2020: Article in Medium, "How You Can Unite the Country, Kill the Virus, and Reopen the Entire Economy in a Single Day: An Open Letter to President Trump" 

May 29, 2020: Article in The Epoch Times, "Could We Defeat the Coronavirus in a Single Day?"

May 1, 2020: Appeal to President Trump on OANN - "Dr. Epstein: Test Everyone, Kill the Virus and Reopen the Economy" (7-min. video).

April 29, 2020: Appearance on Michael Medved's show (19-min. audio). Medved: "Dr. Epstein's plan deserves very serious consideration at the highest levels of government."

April 20, 2020: Newsmax article, "Test Everyone, Kill the Virus, and Reopen the Economy," which is about how a mandate from the President will make universal self-testing and the self-isolation of carriers a highly feasible and rapid process - a process that will kill the virus in a matter of weeks and reopen the economy fully and safely.

April 17, 2020: Article in The Epoch Times, "Could the World Have Avoided a Shutdown?," which explains how universal testing can be used in the future to quickly suppress epidemics and pandemics without shutting down economies.

April 14, 2020: Letter in The New York Times calling for universal testing.

April 13, 2020: Appearance on Tucker Carlson's show calling for universal testing (3-min. video). Carlson: "That's such a sensible solution.... Why has it not occurred to anyone?"

April 6, 2020: Article in the Daily Caller, "It's Time for Some Clear Thinking About the Virus" (forwarding link: http://KillTheVirusNow.com).

March 31, 2020: Appearance on Glenn Beck's show (10-min. video). Beck: "I think this is a genius idea, and I hope the President looks at it."

March 25, 2020: Article in The Epoch Times entitled, "How to Stop the Virus Now" (forwarding link: http://HowToStopTheVirus.com).

The Carrier Separation Plan in 16 bullet points:

• The federal government is currently spending trillions of dollars on half measures that at best can slow the spread of the virus. Until a large majority of the population is vaccinated with a vaccine that is effective against the very latest strain - and will that ever happen? - the government has no way to eliminate the virus. 
  
• Government plans also reopen the economy in small steps over a long period of time, prolonging our economic woes and risking a resurgence of the virus with every step taken.
• There is an alternative, and that is for the President to direct biotech companies and manufacturers to quickly mass produce a small, accurate, non-invasive test device that all Americans can use to self-test for the virus (think: home pregnancy tests like you see in the dollar stores).
• Multiple self-test devices have already been approved by the FDA, and others are under development.
• Hundreds of millions of these devices can be manufactured in a matter of weeks at low cost, and these devices can be distributed by mail to every household in America in a matter of days.
• The President - assisted by all 50 governors, thousands of mayors, and hundreds of thought leaders and celebrities - will declare a National Testing Day, when everyone in the U.S., including the President, his family members, and the White House staff, will self-test.
• The President - assisted by that large crew of influencers - will then urge everyone who tests positive for the virus to self-isolate. This will free up the more than 300 million non-carriers in the U.S. who are currently imprisoned in their homes to immediately reopen the economy and schools without the need for social distancing.
• Just two or three weeks after National Testing Day, the virus will have been largely eradicated from the population, having been killed off by the immune systems of the carriers. As soon as they test negative, they too can return to their normal lives.
• Social service agencies will encourage undocumented immigrants and homeless people to self-test, and hotel rooms or other accommodations will be made available to people who have no way to self-isolate.
• As an incentive, a cash award - perhaps $1,000 - can be offered to people who self-isolate, but social pressure should do most of the work.
• Because some people are bound to slip through the cracks, for several months, secondary screening will be performed at the entrances to schools, churches, and businesses, using those same little self-test devices (think: barrels full of those devices at the entrances, like the barrels full of 3-D glasses in movie theaters). People gain entry by testing negative. If they test positive, they are sent home or into quarantine.
• Any flare-ups of the virus that might occur down the road will quickly be suppressed using the same methodology on a smaller scale.
• Because of the economies of scale that occur in mass production, this entire program, including the mailing costs, is dirt cheap - perhaps only $6.5 billion - a small fraction of the amount of money we're losing every day by keeping the economy shut down.
• This program prevents hospitals from being overwhelmed, because the precise number of cases is known and can be planned for. And because the program eradicates the virus from the population, it might eliminate the need for a vaccine. 
• This same methodology could conceivably be used in the future to quickly suppress new pathogens without shutting down economies.
• In summary: The Carrier Separation Plan (a) immediately stops transmission of the virus, (b) eradicates the virus from the population, and (c) allows us to reopen our entire economy without the need for social distancing. Secondary screening assures that we remain safe. If this plan has a strong mandate from the President, it can be implemented from beginning to end in a matter of weeks.
  
  

Proofs of concept: Testing for the live coronavirus as a way of stopping viral transmission has already been demonstrated with groups ranging in size from 1,000 to 11 million.  On March 20, 2020, researchers at the University of Padua reported having tested all 3,000 of the residents of the Italian town of Vò. By separating the carriers from the non-carriers, they were able to stop viral transmission and, over a period of weeks, to eradicate the virus from the town.

In April, 2020, researchers at the University of California San Francisco tested all 1,680 residents of Bolinas, California. With no sign of infection, the town has since remained virus free by cutting ties with the surrounding community. A small town in Spain has also remained virus free by isolating itself from the surrounding population.

Rapid and widespread testing allowed South Korea to suppress the new coronavirus before it got out of control. When a single case of COVID-19 was discovered in a call center in Seoul, all 1,143 people working in the building that housed the call center were tested the next day, and carriers were isolated. Tranmission stopped immediately. China has suppressed the spread of the virus in Wuhan and other large cities by testing everyone in the city and quickly separating the carriers from the non-carriers.

When non-carriers are separated from carriers, they can live their lives without masks, social distancing, or sheltering in place, and they have no need to close businesses or schools. Carriers will remain at home, and non-carriers will be able to continue working without fear of infection.  

Test device: Multiple self-test devices have already been approved by the FDA, and other are under development. A suitable device might look like an electronic thermometer. You put it in your mouth, and in seconds or minutes, a color change indicates whether you are positive or negative for the virus. Here is what such a device might look like:

Presentations at Scientific Meetings

Epstein, R., Houser, C., & Wang, R. (2021, April). How SARS-Cov-2 and comparable pathogens can be defeated in a single day: Description and mathematical model of the Carrier Separation Plan (CSP). Paper presented at the 101^st annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, April 2021. (15-min. video)