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1/ I hate being a broken record, I promise to stop once all COVID-response data is made public. Specifically the data-rich reports from the WH COVID Task Force & aggregated data from the HHS Protect System.
Without these data we're flying blind, I'll share why with 3 examples
Without these data we're flying blind, I'll share why with 3 examples
2/ So far, two of the weekly reports have been leaked. The first on 7/16 by @publicintegrity & the second on 7/28 by @nytimes. It appears the distribution of these reports has been restricted, so no full leaks since then.
Just an hour ago a partial leak: https://www.fox8live.com/2020/08/11/white-house-task-force-notes-stability-louisiana-recommends-aggressive-testing-shrimpers/
Just an hour ago a partial leak: https://www.fox8live.com/2020/08/11/white-house-task-force-notes-stability-louisiana-recommends-aggressive-testing-shrimpers/
3/ This painstakingly prepared document gets distributed to our 50 states’ governors w. specific recommendations for curtailing the spread, along w. progress reports on testing & county-by-county assessments of the prevalence of the virus.
To gain access, we must rely on leaks.
To gain access, we must rely on leaks.
4/ The data behind these reports are critical to the public health response and need to be shared immediately.
Here are 3 examples of how *not* sharing this data publicly has hampered response and reopening efforts.
Here are 3 examples of how *not* sharing this data publicly has hampered response and reopening efforts.
5/ Example 1: California's Data Backlog
According to reports, this backlog of 300,000 records was the result of missing data from Quest Diagnostics b/c of a server outage & certificate renewal issue.
How could having access to HHS Protect Data help? https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/07/california-sorts-through-coronavirus-data-as-glitch-stymies-policy-decisions-1305972
According to reports, this backlog of 300,000 records was the result of missing data from Quest Diagnostics b/c of a server outage & certificate renewal issue.
How could having access to HHS Protect Data help? https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/07/california-sorts-through-coronavirus-data-as-glitch-stymies-policy-decisions-1305972
6/ If the public or the state of California had access to the system, it could have performed daily quality checks against the Quest Diagnostics Data being reported directly to HHS.
Having another number/source to check against, improves the quality of the overall system.
Having another number/source to check against, improves the quality of the overall system.
7/ Example 2: Kentucky's official dashboard does not share positivity data by county.
This is a critical measure to understand if it is safe to reopen schools, offices, and other public spaces.
https://kygeonet.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/543ac64bc40445918cf8bc34dc40e334
This is a critical measure to understand if it is safe to reopen schools, offices, and other public spaces.
https://kygeonet.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/543ac64bc40445918cf8bc34dc40e334
8/ Guess where this data is? It is in the White House COVID Task Force reports.
Every leak of these reports leads to both national and local coverage of the critical public health information within it.
Like this in Kentucky: https://www.sentinelnews.com/content/white-house-report-has-shelby-red
Every leak of these reports leads to both national and local coverage of the critical public health information within it.
Like this in Kentucky: https://www.sentinelnews.com/content/white-house-report-has-shelby-red
9/ Is Kentucky doing something intentionally malicious? Probably not. Aggregating this data can be difficult for a state to do.
Having another source of data helps complement (and quality check) what a state can produce on its own.
More public data is *always* better.
Having another source of data helps complement (and quality check) what a state can produce on its own.
More public data is *always* better.
10/ Example 3: Washington stopped reporting the number of tests conducted as of August 1st because of reporting issues.
Without this data, there's no accurate way to represent what the positivity is for the state. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washingtons-coronavirus-data-reporting-problems-persist-state-hasnt-had-complete-testing-tallies-since-aug-1/
Without this data, there's no accurate way to represent what the positivity is for the state. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washingtons-coronavirus-data-reporting-problems-persist-state-hasnt-had-complete-testing-tallies-since-aug-1/
11/ While WA state is wrestling w. this issue, where can the public find an alternate source?
A few places: within the task force reports, HHS Protect System, or the CDC (where the data was refreshed earlier today.)
But this raw data is not public.
https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#testing
A few places: within the task force reports, HHS Protect System, or the CDC (where the data was refreshed earlier today.)
But this raw data is not public.
https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/index.html#testing
12/ All the public wants is transparency. We want and need this data so we can fight this virus effectively.
The data won't be perfect, it never is. But if made public, it at least can be scrutinized, fixed, and improved.
I can't help but draw an analogy to hurricanes...
The data won't be perfect, it never is. But if made public, it at least can be scrutinized, fixed, and improved.
I can't help but draw an analogy to hurricanes...
13/ If you were the only person to know a hurricane was about to strike a city, would you let other people know?
When a hurricane nears, our federal government provides leadership by aggregating and rapidly sharing data broadly, because it knows it can save lives this way.
When a hurricane nears, our federal government provides leadership by aggregating and rapidly sharing data broadly, because it knows it can save lives this way.
14/ Like a virus, a hurricane has no respect for borders or state lines. We must demand that all COVID-19 data aggregated by the federal government be shared with everyone.
We can fix this. Tag your senator or congressperson & ask why this data isn't public. Ask them to act.
We can fix this. Tag your senator or congressperson & ask why this data isn't public. Ask them to act.
Addendum:
What happens when critical public health data is shared openly?
The public pitches in and helps.
Wonderful analysis by @COVID19Tracking @NotoriousRSG @betsyladyzhets @JuliaKodysh on the deltas that need to be addressed between states & HHS. https://covidtracking.com/blog/hospitalization-data-reported-by-the-hhs-vs-the-states-jumps-drops-and-other
What happens when critical public health data is shared openly?
The public pitches in and helps.
Wonderful analysis by @COVID19Tracking @NotoriousRSG @betsyladyzhets @JuliaKodysh on the deltas that need to be addressed between states & HHS. https://covidtracking.com/blog/hospitalization-data-reported-by-the-hhs-vs-the-states-jumps-drops-and-other
