The 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.

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Survey: 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.  

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National 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.

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COVID 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.

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Boosters 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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