- COVID-19 resources by Evidence Aid: Evidence Aid is a U.K.-based nonprofit that provides evidence-based guidance for disaster response. The organization’s COVID-19 page includes plain-language research summaries about COVID-19 epidemiology, treatments, and more, available in several different languages.
- Public Health England Technical Briefings on SARS-CoV-2 variants: While the CDC has not done the best job of providing data on variants and breakthrough cases, the U.K.’s public health agency is sequencing more cases than any other country—and providing detailed reports on the results of those efforts. These reports may be useful for anyone seeking to keep a close eye on Delta and other variants’ ability to beat our vaccines. (h/t Your Local Epidemiologist)
- Excess mortality and COVID-19 deaths in 67 countries: Researchers from the University of Bologna (in Italy) analyzed the gaps between excess deaths and COVID-19 deaths in 67 countries, revealing the capacity of different national health systems to accurately identify COVID-19 cases. Their work was published this week in JAMA Network Open. (For more on excess deaths, see this CDD post about Peru.)
- Characterizing long COVID in an international cohort: In another new paper, published this week in The Lancet, COVID-19 long-haulers from the Patient-Led Research Collaborative share the results of an international survey on long COVID-19. The findings indicate that the vast majority of long-haulers (over 90% of those surveyed) suffer from symptoms for at least 35 weeks.
- COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy in Low and Middle Income Countries: One more new paper, this one published in Nature: an international group of researchers analyzed vaccine acceptance across several low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the U.S., and Russia. They found much higher vaccine acceptance in LMICs (80%) compared to the U.S. (65%) and Russian (30%). The study data are available on GitHub.
Tag: Featured sources
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Featured sources, July 18
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Featured sources, July 11
- COVID-19 Vaccination Equity: A new page of the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker allows users to compare a county’s vaccination rate to its vulnerability, using the CDC Social Vulnerability Index—unless that county is in Texas or Hawaii. For more on the Social Vulnerability Index, see this CDD post. The interactive map employs a unique two-tone color scheme, about which my girlfriend (who has graphic design expertise) said, “The purple loses me a little.”
- US COVID-19 Vaccination Tracking: If you’d like to scroll through a county-level vaccine dashboard that actually includes Texas, researchers from the Bansal Lab at Georgetown University have you covered. This dashboard includes data from state public health departments to supplement the CDC’s incomplete reporting. The Bansal Lab researchers also recently published a new analysis, identifying clusters of under-vaccinated counties that are likely to seed outbreaks; I wrote about this analysis for the Daily Mail.
- The human genetic architecture of COVID-19: Since spring 2020, an international group of geneticists have worked to analyze DNA from COVID-19 patients. A major manuscript on these efforts was accepted to Nature and posted online last week (it’s still going through edits); see the supplementary information section for extensive genetic data. And for more backstory on the project, see this article by STAT’s Megan Molteni.
- Nebraska’s COVID-19 dashboard: Is the latest to get discontinued, as part of the trend in states cutting down on their COVID-19 reporting (even though the pandemic is far from over). Unlike Florida, which recently switched from a dashboard to weekly reports, Nebraska is not promising any regular reporting schedule. A note on the public health agency’s website reads: “The State of Nebraska COVID-19 Dashboard is no longer available as of June 30, 2021. Any future updates regarding coronavirus will be provided in news releases and through other means.”
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Featured sources, July 4
No new COVID-19 data sources caught my eye this week, so here are a couple of favorites from the archives.
- Post-COVID Care Centers (featured on 5/2/21): Post-COVID Care Centers, or PCCCs, are clinics where long COVID patients can receive treatment. They’re staffed by a growing group of multidisciplinary doctors and medical researchers seeking to understand this prolonged condition. The long COVID advocacy network Survivor Corps has compiled this database of PCCCs by state; as of July 3, eight states still do not have any such centers.
- The CoronaVirusFacts Alliance Database (featured on 8/2/20): Since the start of the pandemic, Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network has connected fact-checkers in over 70 countries working to correct COVID-19 misinformation. The results of these fact-checkers’ work are compiled in a database, which you can search by country, fact rating, and topic.
- COVID-19 diverse sources (featured on 3/28/21): NPR journalists from the organization’s Source of the Week project have compiled this database of COVID-19 experts from diverse backgrounds. The database is divided into 13 major categories, including virology, disease origin, health policy, racial/ethnic health disparities, and more.
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Featured sources, June 27
- Vaccine hesitancy by ZIP code: A new data visualization tool from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation provides details on which parts of the U.S. would most benefit from vaccination campaigns. The underlying data come from a survey run by the Delphi Research Group at Carnegie Mellon, conducted between June 4 and June 10.
- OIG report on nursing homes: The HHS Office of Inspector General published a new report this week evaluating COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes. The report found that two in five Medicare beneficiaries living in nursing homes were diagnosed with COVID-19 (confirmed or probable cases) in 2020, and almost 1,000 more seniors died per day in April 2020 compared to April 2019.
- The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2021: This comprehensive report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard provides data on home prices, rents, and other related metrics for the past year. The report shows that many households—especially those who are Black and Hispanic—are still behind on housing payments, and could benefit from continued assistance (such as the CDC eviction moratorium extended this week).
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Featured sources, June 20
- CDC adds more data on Delta: The CDC formally classified the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) as a Variant of Concern this week, and updated its Variant Proportions tracker page accordingly. This means data are now available on the variant’s state-by-state and regional prevalence—though the state-by-state figures are as of May 22 due to data lag.
- AMA survey on doctor vaccinations: The American Medical Association (AMA) recently released survey data showing that 96% of U.S. physicians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as of June 8. The 14-page report includes demographic data and other details.
- Rural hospital closures: The North Carolina Rural Health Research Program at the University of North Carolina tracks hospitals in rural areas that close or otherwise stop providing in-patient care. The database includes 181 hospitals that have closed between 2005 and 2021, available in both an interactive map and a downloadable Excel file.
- Health Security Net: This is a public repository including over 1,200 pandemic-related documents—research, hearings, government papers, and more—from the decades leading up to 2020, compiled by Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security. It’s built for scholars, journalists, and other researchers to analyze past and present responses to public health crises.
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Featured sources, June 13
- COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout across US Congressional Districts: This dashboard, from the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, breaks down the U.S. vaccine rollout by a geography I haven’t yet seen: Congressional districts. The interactive maps highlight the partisan nature of this vaccine rollout—as POLITICO reporters pointed out in an article citing the tracker, “All but one of the 39 congressional districts where at least 60 percent of residents have received a coronavirus shot are represented by Democrats.”
- Vaccination time series from the CDC: The CDC’s vaccine dashboard doesn’t allow users to download time series data (i.e. vaccinations by day), but now, you can find this information on the agency’s data portal. The dataset includes county-level vaccine administrations and coverage rates going back to December 13, 2020.
- Methodology changes for Bloomberg’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker is one of the most widely cited in the U.S., and for good reason—it’s incredibly comprehensive, compiling data from every country with an active vaccine rollout (and, in the early weeks of the rollout, from every U.S. state). After months of collecting data by hand, the Bloomberg team is now starting to automate their data collection, Health Editor Drew Armstrong announced this week. Many countries and the WHO are now providing stable enough data sources that such a change is possible.
- Fiscal accountability for COVID-19 responses: The International Budget Partnership, a global nonprofit working to improve government budgets, has produced a report and interactive website analyzing accountability measures that international governments have—and have not—implemented as part of emergency COVID-19 responses. Notably, out of 120 countries surveyed, none have “substantive” accountability and only four have “adequate” accountability. (H/t Data Is Plural.)
- COVID-19 risk levels for kid-related activities: This one isn’t a data source, per se, but I thought readers might find it helpful. A team of epidemiologists, immunologists, and public health scientists—including Katelyn Jetelina of Your Local Epidemiologist—compiled this detailed guide for families with unvaccinated children. The guide aims to help parents and families navigate their risk levels this summer.
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Featured sources, June 6
- COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives: So many companies are now offering rewards to inspire vaccinations in their customers and employees, it might be hard to keep track. Luckily, the federal government is keeping track for you; this page on Vaccines.gov provides a comprehensive list. (I am particularly excited about the United Airlines “Your Shot to Fly” Sweepstakes.) (H/T Chelsea Cirruzzo.)
- Health Equity Data (from the CDC): The CDC has reorganized its COVID Data Tracker to include a new dashboard section specifically focused on health equity. The section includes demographic trends for cases, deaths, and vaccinations, with breakdowns for race and ethnicity, urban/rural status, disabilities, incarcerated people, and more.
- Community health center vaccinations (from KFF): A new brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation demonstrates the value of community health centers in vaccinating vulnerable populations. From January through May, people of color made up nearly two-thirds of those receiving their first doses at these centers, KFF reports.
- Dr. Fauci’s emails: This week, the federal government put out one of its most vital information releases of the pandemic thus far: a trove of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails. The emails, requested by journalists at BuzzFeed and the Washington Post via public records requests, cover hundreds of messages sent to or from the esteemed infectious disease expert in the early months of the pandemic. BuzzFeed has published about 3,200 emails in raw, unfiltered form, and you can read recaps of the emails at both BuzzFeed and WaPo.
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Featured sources, May 30
- Cases and deaths among healthcare workers: A new addition to the CDC COVID Data Tracker this week: a tab reporting cases and deaths in doctors, nurses, and other healthcare personnel. The CDC is reporting both totals and new cases/deaths by week, though the data here likely represent only a fraction of the true counts of healthcare workers infected during the pandemic. Notably, the total death toll is only about 1,600—less than half of the healthcare worker deaths reported by The Guardian and KHN’s “Lost on the Frontline” project.
- Health Equity Tracker: When the COVID Tracking Project (including the COVID Racial Data Tracker) ceased data collection in March, it became much more difficult to compare COVID-19 case counts by race and ethnicity across states. A new project from the Morehouse School of Medicine fills that gap—and does much more. The Tracker incorporates data from the CDC, the Census, and other sources to provide comprehensive information on which communities have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more about it in this STAT article.
- Coronavirus variant lineages: I came across this source a few days ago while researching variant lineages, prompted by a question on Twitter. Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Lineages (or PANGO Lineages, for short) is a software tool developed by a lab in the U.K. that allows users to submit and analyze coronavirus sequences. The specific page I’ve linked here provides a comprehensive, searchable list of all the coronavirus variants that scientists have identified. Very useful if you need to search up an older or less-well-known variant.
- Unemployment Insurance Data Explorer: This tool from progressive think tank The Century Foundation allows users to explore, visualize, and download data on unemployment insurance distributed during the pandemic. The tool includes data broken out by state and goes back in time to 1971—valuable for historical analysis.
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Featured sources, May 23
- GAO analysis of COVID-19 in nursing homes: The Government Accountability Office, an organization that does research and audits on behalf of Congress, has a new report out this week on the devastating COVID-19 outbreaks that took place in nursing homes. The GAO researched about 13,000 facilities, using CDC data from May 2020 to January 2021. 94% of the nursing homes in the study faced at least one COVID-19 outbreak, with the majority of outbreaks (85%) lasting five weeks or more.
- Johns Hopkins Pandemic Data Initiative: The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center is one of the most widely-cited sources of COVID-19 data, providing detailed and up-to-date information for both the U.S. and the world. But the resource center’s scientists “have struggled to work with COVID-19 data that is inconsistent, incomplete, and insufficient,” writes JHU data lead Beth Blauer in a blog post. A new section of the resource center will explore data inconsistencies and highlight possible solutions.
- Excess deaths by U.S. county: Excess deaths, or those deaths that occur above a region’s past baseline, are a common metric for examining the true toll of COVID-19. In addition to reporting excess deaths by U.S. states and demographic categories, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) also reports this information by county. A group of researchers (Stokes et al.) recently analyzed these county-level data and found that U.S. COVID-19 deaths may be underestimated by about 20%; their findings were published this week in PLOS Medicine.
- Vaccine consent laws by state: As the Pfizer vaccine is now available to children ages 12 to 15, a lot of teenagers out there may want to know if they can get vaccinated without parental permission. The site VaxTeen provides these kids with information on the consent laws in every state, as well as a guide for talking to your parents about vaccines and other resources. (H/T Robin Lloyd.)
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Source updates, May 16
Two more important CDC data updates for this week:
- Vaccine demographics, for the past 14 days and over time: This week, the CDC added a new category to its Vaccine Demographics page. Previously, the page allowed users to compare overall first dose and fully vaccinated rates for different race/ethnicity, age, and sex groups; now, you can also make those comparisons specifically for vaccinations in the last two weeks. For a time series view, check out the Vaccine Demographic Trends page, which shows vaccination rates over time—now available for race/ethnicity, sex, and age. The race/ethnicity view clearly shows that White and Asian Americans are getting vaccinated at higher rates than other groups.
- Variant tracker “Nowcast”: Loyal CDD readers will already know that I love to drag the CDC for reporting their variant data with an enormous lag; often the most recent figures on the agency’s Variant Proportions page are a month old. Well, maybe somebody on their team is reading, because this week, the CDC added a new option to its variant dashboard that addresses this issue. Selecting “Nowcast On” (below the variant color bars) allows you to view prevalence estimates for the current week, in addition to the agency’s most recent week of data collection. A note below the dashboard explains that the “Nowcast” figures are based on modeling estimates that extrapolate from known proportions. For example, B.1.1.7 is known to cause 66% of U.S. cases as of April 24, but the “Nowcast” estimate puts it at 72% of cases as of May 8. This is actually pretty useful, thanks CDC!
COVID-19 Data Dispatch 