Sources and updates, December 18
Sources and updates for the week of December 18 include at-home test orders, lives saved by vaccines, state-level wastewater surveillance, and more.
Read MoreMonth: December 2022
NYC’s wastewater program models the challenges facing local public health agencies
My second big story this week is a detailed report about New York City’s wastewater surveillance program, highlighting its lack of transparency. I’m particularly excited to share this one with NYC-based readers, as it uncovers a public program that’s been running under our feet for nearly three years.
Read MoreNew CDC report vastly underestimates deaths with Long COVID
On Wednesday, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NHCS) released a major report on deaths from Long COVID. To identify a small (but significant) number of deaths, NCHS researchers searched through the text of death certificates for Long COVID-related terms. Their study demonstrates how bad our current health data systems are at capturing the results of chronic disease.
Read MoreNational numbers, December 18
After a significant post-Thanksgiving spike, COVID-19 transmission in the U.S. appears to be in a high plateau, according to trends in cases and wastewater. Official case counts stayed fairly steady this week compared to the week following the holiday, according to the CDC, while wastewater data from Biobot show coronavirus concentrations leveling out.
Read MoreSources and updates, December 11
Sources and updates for the week of December 11 include America’s Health Rankings, bivalent boosters for kids, and more.
Read MoreData implications of China ending its zero-COVID policies
China has rolled back some of its most rigorous COVID-19 safety policies, essentially moving away from its “zero COVID” strategy, following recent protests. I am no expert on China’s political or health policies here, but I did want to share some reflections on what this rollback could mean for global COVID-19 data.
Read MoreAnswering reader questions about data interpretation, good masking
This week, I’m sharing answers to three questions from readers that came in recently, through emails and the COVID-19 Data Dispatch Google form. The questions discuss interpreting wastewater and case data, and an interesting masking conundrum.
Read MoreNational numbers, December 11
It’s now undeniable that Thanksgiving led to a jump in COVID-19 spread: officially-reported cases went up 50% this past week compared to the week of the holiday, following the trend that we first saw in wastewater data. Hospital admissions for COVID-19 also continue to go up.
Read MoreCOVID source shout-out: Variant data from wastewater
I recently learned that the CDC is publishing a limited amount of variant surveillance data from its National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS).
Read MoreSources and updates, December 4
Sources and updates for the week of December 4 include new CDC grants to support public health infrastructure, breakthrough COVID-19 deaths, monoclonal antibodies, and more.
Read More