The CDC is now updating its COVID-19 cases and deaths data weekly, instead of daily. This shift goes beyond the agency’s public dashboard: the CDC has also archived datasets with state- and county-level data providing COVID-19 cases and deaths.
I recently received a question from a reader, asking how to follow both COVID-19 and the flu in the county where she lives. For COVID-19, county-level data sources aren’t too hard to find; for the flu, this is much harder.
The national COVID-19 picture continues to be somewhat murky, thanks in part to poor-quality data. Both nationwide cases and new hospital admissions trended slightly upward in the last week (by 2% and 1%, respectively); this could reflect the beginnings of fall surges in some places, but it’s hard to say for sure.
I’ve been to a few journalism conferences in 2022, along with other larger events, and Science Writers has the best COVID-19 safety protocols I have encountered so far. Shout-out to the organizers!
As of this Thursday, the CDC is updating COVID-19 case and death data every week instead of every day. Here are some thoughts on interpreting COVID-19 data in the wake of this change, citing an article I recently wrote for The Atlantic.
Official COVID-19 case numbers continue to drop nationwide, according to the CDC, but I remain concerned that a fall surge is coming soon. New subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are particularly worth watching.
The CDC provided a fairly normal variant data update this week. Be wary of sensationalist Twitter personalities who want you to think some kind of conspiracy is going on.
Sources and updates for the week of October 16 include a new paper on the U.S.’s data failures, indoor air quality measures from the federal government, testing out of isolation, and more.