The COVID Tracking Project Part 2
Digest
The podcast begins with a reflection on Mardi Gras 2020, a time before the pandemic's widespread impact. It then transitions to the early days of COVID-19 in the US, focusing on Amy Gleason's experience as a technologist at the White House. The episode delves into the White House's struggle to gather accurate and comprehensive COVID-19 data. Amy Gleason, working on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, faces challenges in accessing and coordinating data from various sources. The episode highlights the emergence of the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-driven initiative that filled the void in reliable COVID-19 data. Volunteers across the nation worked tirelessly to gather and share data from every state and territory. The episode concludes with a preview of the next episode, which will explore the impact of the COVID Tracking Project and the CDC's eventual release of data. Credits are then given to the producers, contributors, and funders of the show.
Outlines
The Early Days of COVID-19
This episode begins with a reflection on Mardi Gras 2020, a time before the pandemic's widespread impact. It then transitions to the early days of COVID-19 in the US, focusing on Amy Gleason's experience as a technologist at the White House. The episode delves into the White House's struggle to gather accurate and comprehensive COVID-19 data. Amy Gleason, working on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, faces challenges in accessing and coordinating data from various sources.
The Rise of the COVID Tracking Project
This episode highlights the emergence of the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-driven initiative that filled the void in reliable COVID-19 data. Volunteers across the nation worked tirelessly to gather and share data from every state and territory.
Conclusion and Credits
The episode concludes with a preview of the next episode, which will explore the impact of the COVID Tracking Project and the CDC's eventual release of data. Credits are then given to the producers, contributors, and funders of the show.
Keywords
COVID-19
A highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It emerged in late 2019 and quickly spread globally, leading to a pandemic.
White House Coronavirus Task Force
A group of government officials established by the Trump administration to coordinate the US response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was led by Vice President Mike Pence and included key advisors like Dr. Deborah Birx.
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
A US federal agency responsible for public health protection and disease prevention. It plays a crucial role in monitoring and responding to public health emergencies, including pandemics.
COVID Tracking Project
A volunteer-driven initiative that emerged in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to gather and share reliable data on cases, deaths, and hospitalizations across the US. It became a vital source of information for the public and government agencies.
Mardi Gras
A festive celebration held annually in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for its parades, costumes, and revelry. It marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian calendar.
Q&A
How did the White House Coronavirus Task Force struggle to gather accurate COVID-19 data in the early days of the pandemic?
The Task Force faced challenges in accessing and coordinating data from various sources, including state health departments, hospitals, and the CDC. The lack of a centralized system and inconsistencies in data reporting made it difficult to get a clear picture of the pandemic's spread.
What was the COVID Tracking Project, and why was it so important?
The COVID Tracking Project was a volunteer-driven initiative that emerged to fill the void in reliable COVID-19 data. Volunteers across the nation worked tirelessly to gather and share data from every state and territory, providing a vital source of information for the public and government agencies.
Show Notes
In March 2020, health care technologist Amy Gleason had a daunting task ahead of her. She was a new member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s data team, and it was her job to figure out where people were testing positive for COVID-19 across the country, how many were in hospitals, and how many had died from the disease.
Gleason was shocked to find that data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wasn’t reflecting the immediate impact of the coronavirus. At the same time, the country was suffering from another huge shortfall: a lack of COVID-19 tests. The task force also faced national shortages of medical supplies like masks and ventilators and lacked basic information about COVID-19 hospitalizations that would help them know where to send supplies.
Realizing that the federal government was failing to collect national data, reporters at The Atlantic formed The COVID Tracking Project. Across all 50 states, hundreds of volunteers began gathering crucial information on the number of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations. Each day, they compiled the state COVID-19 data in a massive spreadsheet, creating the nation’s most reliable picture of the spread of the deadly disease.
This week on Reveal: The second episode of our three-part series asks why there was no good federal data about COVID-19. This Peabody Award-nominated series is hosted by epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera and reported by Artis Curiskis and Kara Oehler from The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.
This is an update of an episode that originally aired in April 2023.
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