COVID source shout-out: K-12 data in Utah
I want to give a special shout-out to Utah, which has expanded its K-12 data since spring 2021. This state is now the fourth to report in-person enrollment in schools.
Read MoreMonth: September 2021
Featured sources, September 26
Featured sources for the week of September 26 include variant classifications, K-12 school data, and the 1918 flu.
Read MoreOur pandemic winter: Stories on what to expect
the outlets that I consider to be among the most reliable pandemic news sources published stories on our coming pandemic winter. Obviously, you should read both pieces in full, but here are my takeaways.
Read MoreThe data problem underlying booster shot confusion
Why has the booster shot decision-making process been so confusing? Why don’t the experts agree on whether booster shots are necessary, or on who should get these extra shots? From my (data journalist’s) perspective, the booster shot confusion largely stems from a lack of data on breakthrough cases.
Read MoreSurvey: Looking forward to 2022
I recently wrapped up a big project over here at the COVID-19 Data Dispatch. Now that it’s done, I’ve been doing a bit of reflecting on the next steps for this publication—specifically, what I’d like it to look like one year from now. Â
Read MoreNational numbers, September 26
Following the Labor Day reporting blips of the past two weeks, COVID-19 cases are now clearly trending down in the U.S. The daily new case average is close to what we saw in early August, at the start of the Delta surge.
Read MoreCOVID source shout-out: Teen vaccinations in Maine
Most states report vaccination rates by county, ZIP code, or another similar local jurisdiction. But when I was updating the COVID-19 Data Dispatch vaccine annotations page last week, I noticed one unique offering: Maine is reporting vaccination rates for teenagers, ages 12 to 18, by school administrative unit.
Read MoreFeatured sources, September 19
Featured sources for the week of September 19 include K-12 testing, vaccine hesitancy, hospital reporting, and Long COVID.
Read MoreBetsy news: I’m joining Documenting COVID-19
Starting this week, I’m joining the team at Documenting COVID-19 on a part-time basis. Documenting COVID-19, for those unfamiliar, is an open-records project that makes pandemic data and records from all levels of the U.S. government available to journalists and researchers.Â
Read MoreBoosters for the vulnerable: FAQs following the FDA advisory meeting
This past Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s vaccine advisory committee voted to recommend booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for all Americans over age 65 and those who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, due to their health conditions and/or work environments. This was a notable recommendation because it went against the FDA’s ask: booster shots for everyone over the age of 16. Let’s walk through the data behind this decision.
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