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.
If you have found this newsletter, this blog, or any of my other COVID-related writing and analysis valuable: please consider donating to support my work. You can either make a monthly donation with Pico or a one-time donation with Ko-fi.
This is my first COVID-19 Data Dispatch issue after my August hiatus! Here are a few updates on how that went and changes I’m thinking about for the publication going forward.
100 weeks ago, I wrote the first issue of this newsletter on Substack. Here’s a brief reflection on what I’ve learned about COVID-19 reporting since then.
There’s no sugarcoating it: we are in an extremely confusing and frustrating phase of the pandemic. We see the rising (yet undercounted) case numbers, we hear from friends and family members who have recently tested positive. And yet the CDC’s official COVID-19 guidance is still based on a mostly-green map, while local leaders refuse to reinstate mask mandates or other safety measures.
In this post, I’m answering reader questions about how individuals can impact COVID-19 policies. Such questions feel particularly pertinent this week, as leaders of several states loosen up on mask mandates and other COVID-19 safety measures.
In 2022, I would like to revamp readers’ options for donating in a way that aligns more closely with your interests. The survey will help me figure that out, as well as give me an overall sense of what you all would like to see from the COVID-19 Data Dispatch in 2022.
In late December last year, I shared a list of news stories and projects that I considered the 20 best COVID-19 data stories of 2020. This year, I’m planning to compile a similar list, and I need your help to pick these stories.
I recently wrapped up a big project over here at the COVID-19 Data Dispatch. Now that it’s done, I’ve been doing a bit of reflecting on the next steps for this publication—specifically, what I’d like it to look like one year from now.