Two major metrics, new cases and current hospitalizations, are down for the second week in a row. (See the numbers trending down on the COVID Tracking Project chart, above.) The number of new cases reported this week is the lowest it’s been since Thanksgiving. And, while well over 100,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID-19, we are seeing about 17,000 fewer patients nationwide than we did two weeks ago.
Read MoreFeatured sources for Jan. 17 include long haulers, global data, and Medicare beneficiaries.
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The COVID-19 Data Dispatch largely focuses on U.S. news. This country’s response to the pandemic has been so chaotic and confusing that it is a full-time job just to keep up with major developments. But sometimes, to truly understand COVID-19 in America, we need a global perspective. More specifically: seeing how other nations have succeeded in mounting a robust public health response—with actual support from the public—can show us how we have failed.
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Today, I’m focusing on a vaccination issue that hasn’t gotten as much press: who is actually getting vaccinated? On the national level, we largely can’t answer this question, thanks to a lack of demographic data.
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K-12 schools across the country are open for the spring semester, even as America faces serious outbreaks in almost every state and a more contagious strain—more contagious for both children and adults—begins to spread. At the national level, we are still overwhelmingly unable to track how the virus is spreading in these settings.
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Two weeks out from New Years (and the subsequent reporting weirdness), cases seem to be stabilizing, somewhat. But “stabilizing,” at this point in the pandemic, still means ridiculous numbers. 220,000 new cases each day! That’s like the population of Baton Rouge, Louisiana getting diagnosed with COVID-19 every day.
Read MoreAt a time when state dashboards have become increasingly crowded with new information—or expanded onto five different GIS pages—I am comforted by the consistency of Kentucky’s COVID-19 reporting.
Read MoreFeatured sources for the week of Jan. 10 include a visualization of hospital facilities, therapeutics distribution, and hospital discharges.
Read MoreLike everyone else, I spent Wednesday afternoon watching rioters attack the nation’s Capitol. I was horrified by the violence and the ease with which these extremists took over a seat of government, of course, but a couple of hours in, another question arose: did this coup spread COVID-19?
Read MoreHi! I’m Sarah, and I’m going to be helping out around here for the time being. I’m currently a junior at Barnard College (Betsy’s alma mater) studying cell and molecular biology, and I’m looking to go into health journalism after I graduate. When I’m not dreaming of an all-powerful national data dashboard, I’m writing as […]
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