COVID source shout-out: Hawaii
As state leaders drop COVID-19 safety measures right and left, I wanted to give a shout-out to Hawaii: the one state that has kept its indoor mask mandate in place during this time.
Read MoreMonth: February 2022
Featured sources, February 27
Featured sources for the week of February 27 include a COVID-19 timeline and a reminder about CDD resources.
Read MoreFive more things, February 27
Additional news items for the week of February 27 include the CDC withholding data, BA.2 updates, and rapid testing out of isolation.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 Data Dispatch at NICAR 2022
This time next week, I’ll be at NICAR 2022—the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ annual data journalism conference. And I do mean “at”: though the conference this year will be held in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual options, I’ve chosen to travel for the in-person sessions in Atlanta, Georgia.
Read MoreWhy the CDC changed its masking guidance, and which metrics to follow right now
This past Friday, the CDC announced a major shift to its guidance for determining COVID-19 safety measures based on county-level community metrics. The new guidance is intended to replace COVID-19 thresholds that the agency developed last summer, during the Delta wave; here, the CDC is promoting a shift from using cases and test positivity for local decision-making to using metrics tied directly to the healthcare system.
Read MoreNational numbers, February 27
The U.S. is now on week six of falling COVID-19 case numbers nationwide. New cases fell 38% from last week to this week, and are down 87% from one month ago. This is also the first week that the country has reported a daily new case average under 100,000 since early December.
Read MoreFeatured sources, February 20
Featured sources for the week of February 20 include COVID-19 drug order and inventory, breakthrough case reporting, and Long COVID sources.
Read MoreFive more things, February 20
A few additional news items from this week, including U.S. deaths caused by Omicron, failure to meet WHO vaccination targets, and a large event that turned out to not be a superspreader.
Read MoreAs COVID-19 precautions are lifted, who remains vulnerable?
As more states and other institutions lift COVID-19 safety measures, the shift has sparked a conversation about who remains most vulnerable to COVID-19 during this period. These vulnerable groups include unvaccinated and unboosted seniors, immunocompromised people, and pregnant people.
Read MoreStates treating COVID-19 as “endemic” is leading to shifts in data collection and reporting
Some states are making major shifts in the ways they collect and report COVID-19 data. State public health departments are essentially moving to monitor COVID-19 more like the way they monitor the flu: as a disease that can pose a serious public health threat and deserves some attention, but does not entirely dictate how people live their lives.
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