COVID-19 Data Dispatch

Tag: Featured sources

  • Sources and updates, Nov. 1

    The sources listed here are included in my source list, along with all featured sources from past issues.

    • Detailed hospitalization data go unreported: A new story by NPR’s Pien Huang and Selena Simmons-Duffin reveals county-, city-, and individual hospital-level reports which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) circulates internally but does not post publicly. HHS’s public reports on hospital capacity only include data at the state level. According to Huang and Simmons-Duffin’s reporting, more local data and contextual information such as per capita calculations and time series would be incredibly useful for the public health experts who are trying to determine where aid is most needed. The NPR story also notes that hospital compliance is low: only 62% of U.S. hospitals had sent HHS all the required information in the week prior to October 30.
    • HHS Protect has expanded: For a few months now, the HHS Protect Public Data Hub has only hosted COVID-19 hospitalization data. But recently, the website expanded to include a section on national testing. Users can clearly see cumulative PCR testing numbers from the country, download the full dataset, and read documentation. This dataset has been publicly available on healthdata.gov since July, but through hosting it on the HHS Protect Public Data Hub, the agency has made it more easily accessible for Americans who are not data nerds like myself.
    • Daily testing needs: A new tool from the Brown School of Public Health helps users calculate how many tests are needed for key essential groups, both for the nation overall and state-by-state. The tool is intended for public health leaders and policymakers who are starting to scale up as antigen tests become more widely available. For example, New York would need 37,300 tests a day to screen all college and university students.
    • Pennsylvania’s antigen tests: On October 14, Pennsylvania started distributing antigen test kits to health centers, nursing homes, and other facilities throughout the state. The facilities receiving tests are reported by the state in weekly lists. I wanted to share this because it’s a great example of testing transparency; though if Pennsylvania adds antigen tests to their dashboard, their reporting will be even more comprehensive. For more information on why state antigen test reporting is important—and how states have failed at it so far—see my COVID Tracking Project blog post from last week.
    • COVID holiday FAQs: Epidemiologists from Boston University, the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and the University of Miami have compiled their responses to common concerns around the holiday season. The questions included range from, “How do I talk to friends and family members about COVID and the holidays?” to, “Is it important to get my flu shot?” (P.S. It is. Get your flu shot.)
    • COVID-19 in ICE detention centers: Since March 24, researchers from the Vera Institute of Justice have been compiling data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on COVID-19 cases and testing in immigrant detention centers. The researchers note that ICE replaces previously reported numbers whenever its dataset is updated, making it difficult to track COVID-19 in these facilities over time.
    • Eviction Lab: Researchers fromPrinceton University compile data for this source by reviewing formal eviction records in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Although the source’s most recent state-level dataset is as of 2016, the group is also tracking COVID-19-related evictions in real time for a select group of cities. Houston, TX, at the top of the list, has seen over 13,000 new eviction filings since March.
    • HHS celebrity tracker: Here’s one more piece of HHS news, this one more lighthearted. This week, POLITICO’s Dan Diamond released an HHS document called the “PSA Celebrity Tracker,” which health officials were using to determine which of America’s favorite people may be useful in an ad campaign encouraging the nation to be less negative about COVID-19. (Here’s more context from POLITICO on the tracker.) Alec Baldwin, for example, is listed as a celebrity who appeals to the elderly, with the additional note: “interested but having a baby in a few weeks.” Lin-Manuel Miranda is listed as appealing to Asian-Americans, with the note: “No information regarding political affiliation.”
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Oct. 25

    These sources have been added to the COVID-19 Data Dispatch resource list, along with all sources featured in previous weeks.

    • Missing in the Margins: Estimating the Scale of the COVID-19 Attendance Crisis: This new report by Bellwether Education Partners provides estimates and analysis of the students who have been unable to participate in virtual learning during the pandemic. While the state-by-state estimates and city profiles may be useful to local reporters, the overall numbers should shock us all: three million students, now left behind.
    • The Pandemic and ICE Use of Detainers in FY 2020: The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (or TRAC) at Syracuse University has collected data on U.S. immigration since 2006. The project’s most recent report describes the pandemic’s impact on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s practice of detaining individuals as a step for apprehending and deporting them.
    • COVID-19 Risk Levels Dashboard: This dashboard by the Harvard Global Health Institute and other public health institutions now includes COVID-19 risk breakdowns at the congressional district level. Toggling back and forth between the county and congressional district options allows one to see that, when risk is calculated by county, a few regions of the U.S. are in the “green”; at the congressional district level, this is not true for a single area.
    • COVID-19 at the White House: VP Outbreak: The team behind a crowdsourced White House contact tracer (discussed in my October 4 issue) is now tracking cases connected to Vice President Mike Pence.
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Oct. 18

    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Oct. 11

    As I promised in previous weeks, I’ve compiled all the data sources featured in this newsletter into a resource spreadsheet. The doc includes 56 sources, sorted by category (schools, testing, etc.) with descriptions and notes from past newsletters. I’ll keep adding to it in future weeks!

    (Editor’s note, Jan. 2: The resource list is now a page on this website.)

    • The Human Mortality Database: This database includes detailed population and mortality data for 41 countries. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team behind the database has started compiling weekly death counts, which can be used for excess death calculations; they have compiled counts for 34 countries so far.
    • SARS-CoV-2 Superspreading Events: Superspreading events, or instances in which many people are infected with the novel coronavirus at once, have been identified as a major force behind the spread of COVID-19. This database includes over 1,400 superspreading events from around the world, with information on each event’s timing, location, inside/outside setting, and more.
    • COVID-19 Risk Levels Dashboard: A new map from the Harvard Global Health Institute and other public health institutions allows users to see the COVID-19 risk for every U.S. county. These risk levels are calculated based on daily cases per 100,000 population (7-day rolling average).
    • New York Times College and University COVID-19 counts: The NYT is now releasing the data behind its counts of COVID-19 cases reported on college and university campuses, which the paper has been collecting in surveys since July. The survey includes over 1,700 colleges. This initial data release only includes cumulative data as of September 8—and it does not include denominators. NYT reports that the data will be updated “approximately every two weeks.”
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Oct. 4

    All featured sources are available here.

    • Search trends on COVID-19 symptoms: Researchers can now access a Google Search dataset of search trends related to over 400 COVID-19 symptoms and related health conditions, such as fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.
    • FAQs on Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission: This pubic document was compiled by a group of scientists and engineers who study aerosol transmission. Answered questions range from “How long can the virus stay in the air indoors?” to “What is the best type of mask?”
    • MIT COVID-19 Indoor Safety Guideline: Another air transmission resource allows users to calculate the risk levels for different indoor spaces, based on a model by MIT researchers Martin Bazant and John Bush.
    • Open States COVID-19 Legislation: Open States, a public civic engagement project, is compiling a list of legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. The database currently tracks over 3,000 bills in 46 states.
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Sept. 20

    • Dear Pandemic: This source describes itself as “a website where bona fide nerdy girls post real info on COVID-19.” It operates as a well-organized FAQ page on the science of COVID-19, run by an all-female team of researchers and clinicians.
    • Mutual Aid Disaster Relief: This past spring saw an explosion of mutual aid groups across the country, as people helped their neighbors with food, medical supplies, and other needs in the absence of government-sponsored aid. These groups may no longer be in the spotlight, but as federal relief bills continue to stall, they still need support. Organizations like Mutual Aid Disaster Relief can help you find a mutual aid group in your area.
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Sept. 13

    • COVID-19 Cutback Tracker: Researchers at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University have tracked layoffs, furloughs, closures, and other cutbacks to journalistic outlets since March 2020. Findings from the project were released this past Wednesday in a new tracker.
    • We Rate Covid Dashboards: Two weeks ago, I analyzed college and university COVID-19 dashboards for my newsletter. This project from public health experts at Yale and Harvard, meanwhile, goes much further: the researchers have developed a rating scheme based on available metrics, legibility, update schedules, and more, and rated over 100 dashboards so far.
    • GenderSci Lab’s US Gender/Sex Covid-19 Data Tracker: The GenderSci Lab, an interdisciplinary research project, is tracking COVID-19 by gender by compiling information from state reports. The tracker includes case counts, death counts, and mortality rates.
    • COVIDcast: This dashboard, by the Delphi Group at Carnegie Mellon University, features interactive maps for a variety of COVID-19 indicators, including movement trends, doctors’ visits , and even test positivity based on antigen tests.
    • 2019 baby name popularity: Okay, this one isn’t COVID-19 related. But as Stacker’s resident baby names expert, I feel obligated to inform my readers that, last week, the Social Security Administration finally released its counts of how many babies were given which names in 2019. (The annual update is usually released in March, but was delayed this year due to COVID-19 concerns.) Olivia has beat out Emma for the number one-ranked baby girl name, after Emma’s five years at the top. Personally, I always get a kick out of scrolling through the long tails to see what unique and creative names parents are using.
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Sept. 6

    • Colors of COVID: This Canadian project relies on public surveys to collect data on how COVID-19 is impacting marginalized communities in the country. The project plans to release quarterly reports with these survey results.
    • America’s Health Rankings’ Senior Report: America’s Health Rankings has conducted annual reviews of health metrics in every U.S. state since 1990. The organization’s most recent Senior Report is over 100 pages of data on older Americans, including rankings of the healthiest states for seniors.
    • The Long-Term Care COVID Tracker: I wrote in my August 16 newsletter that the COVID Tracking Project had released a snapshot of a new dataset compiling cases and deaths in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care facilities. As of this week, the full dataset is out, including historical data going back to May 21 and extensive notes on how each state is reporting this crucial information. Read more about it here.
    • NIOSH-Approved N-95 Respirators: This CDC list includes thousands of surgical N-95 respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); it’s intended as a source for healthcare workers. As a recent article in Salon points out, the list includes over 600 valved models, despite recent guidances instructing the public to avoid valved masks.
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Aug. 30

    • Charity Nagivator: I just have one featured source this week, but it’s crucial. Charity Navigator is a database that compiles and evaluates charities based on their financial health and accountability. The database has detailed rankings and search capability, and when a crisis hits—such as the recent California wildfires or Hurricane Laura—they put together quick lists of organizations where any interested samaritans can help the cause.
    All featured sources

  • Featured sources, Aug. 23

    • COVID Care Map: Dave Luo, another COVID Tracking Project volunteer, also runs this volunteer effort to aggregate and clean public data on health care system capacity. The source has mapped capacity figures at the state, county, and individual facility levels, as well as other healthcare data from sources such as the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
    • Federal allocation of remdesivir: This public dataset from HHS shows how many cases of remdesivir, an antiviral drug which has become an important treatment option for COVID-19 patients, have been distributed to each state since early July. The dataset is cited in an NPR investigation which reports confusion and lack of transparency about how remdesivir distribution is decided.
    • The White House’s Red Zone Reports: Each week, the White House Coronavirus Task Force sends reports to U.S. governors about the state of the pandemic, including county-level data on cases and tests. The reports are not made public, but the Center for Public Integrity is collecting and releasing many of them. As of August 23, the Center’s document repository includes one report on all 50 states (from July 14) and 13 state-specific reports.
    All featured sources