Sources and updates, March 12
Sources and updates for the week of March 12 include Long COVID deaths, gastrointestinal symptoms, trust in public health agencies, and more.
Read MoreRemission Biome could represent a new paradigm in patient-led research
I have a new story out in National Geographic this week about a growing area of research connecting the gut microbiome—the diverse community of microorganisms that live in our digestive systems—with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), the chronic disease that often occurs after viral infection and has many commonalities with Long COVID. For the story, I talked to Tamara Romanuk and Tess Falor, patient-researchers whose Remission Biome project seeks to understand this connection and push towards potential treatments.
Read MoreNational numbers, March 12
Following the same pattern we’ve seen for the last few weeks, COVID-19 spread is still on the decline nationally. Official case counts, hospital admissions, and wastewater surveillance data all continue to point in this direction.
Read MoreCOVID source shout-out: Remembering the COVID Tracking Project
This Tuesday, March 7, will mark two years since the COVID Tracking Project stopped collecting data. For readers who might not know, I was a long-time volunteer for the Project.
Read MoreSources and updates, March 5
Sources and updates for the week of March 5 include a joint COVID/flu rapid test, new Long COVID studies, RSV vaccines, and more.
Read MoreMy tips for covering Long COVID (using data, records, and patient interviews)
On Friday, I led a workshop at NICAR about covering Long COVID. NICAR is a data journalism conference, so my session focused on data sources, along with suggestions for public records requests and for interviewing long-haulers.
Read MoreQ&A: Libraries lend out CO2 monitors to make public health data more accessible
This Q&A with two cofounders of Community Access to Ventilation Information (CAVI) explores how the organization helps public libraries in Canada loan out CO2 monitors to patrons. In addition to the monitor-lending, CAVI develops educational materials to help library patrons use these tools and collaborates with other air quality initiatives.
Read MoreNational numbers, March 5
At the national level, major COVID-19 metrics continue to indicate slow declines in transmission. As I’ve been writing for the last few weeks, we’re at a “low tide” point in COVID-19 spread: clearly lower than the peaks that occur after holidays or new variants, but much higher than the baselines that we experienced before the Omicron era.
Read MoreCOVID source callout: What, exactly, are the Bachelor’s COVID-19 safety protocols?
This week, the Bachelor tested positive for COVID-19. As both an avid watcher of the franchise and a COVID-19 reporter, I was immediately curious to see how the production would handle this. Unfortunately, the show was pretty sparse on safety details.
Read MoreSources and updates, February 26
Sources and updates for the week of February 26 include deaths in U.S. prisons, the future of COVID-19 vaccines, airplane wastewater testing, and more.
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