Sources and updates, January 22
Sources and updates for the week of January 22 include respiratory virus hospitalizations, new excess death estimates, wastewater testing on airplanes, and more.
Read MoreCategory: Testing
China’s not the only country with unreliable COVID-19 data
China is currently facing a massive COVID-19 surge, after ending many of its stringent “zero COVID” policies in December. But it’s not the only country that has problems with data accuracy right now.
Read MoreSources and updates, January 8
Sources and updates for the week of January 8 include a new NIH program, China’s unreliable COVID-19 surveillance, airplane wastewater, and more.
Read MoreXBB.1.5 FAQ: What you should know about the latest Omicron subvariant
XBB.1.5 is the latest Omicron subvariant to spread rapidly through the U.S. It is, of course, more transmissible and more capable of evading immunity from past infections than other versions of Omicron that have gone before it, as this lineage continues mutating. Scientists are still learning about XBB.1.5; it emerged from the U.S. during the holiday season, which has posed surveillance challenges. But we know enough to say that this variant is bad news for an already overstretched healthcare system.
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 MoreCOVID source shout-out: New NIH tool to report at-home test results
This week, the National Institutes of Health launched a new website that allows people to anonymously report their at-home test results. While I’m skeptical about how much useful data will actually result from the site, it could be a helpful tool to gauge how willing Americans are to self-report test results.
Read MoreThe U.S.’s flu and RSV surveillance is insufficient for tracking this fall’s outbreaks
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.
Read MoreSources and updates, October 16
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.
Read MoreSeveral respiratory viruses might spread widely this fall; here’s how we should track them
As you might have guessed from the last couple weeks of National numbers posts, I am anticipating that the U.S. will see a new COVID-19 surge this fall, along with potential surges of the flu and other respiratory diseases. Here’s why it’s worth worrying about possible surges, and some thoughts on better tracking these viruses in the future.
Read MoreOrders of free at-home COVID-19 tests varied widely by state
On September 2, 2022, the federal government stopped taking orders for free at-home COVID-19 tests. The day this program ended, I sent a public records request to the federal government asking for data on how many tests were distributed. I just received some data back from my request; here’s what the numbers show.
Read More