The COVID Tracking Project Part 3
Digest
This podcast, "Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams," delves into the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on public health, particularly focusing on the role of data and the need for a more robust public health infrastructure. The podcast begins by exploring the myth that COVID-19 was a great equalizer, highlighting the disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities due to pre-existing inequalities and lack of racial data. It then introduces the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-driven initiative that emerged to fill the gap in accurate and timely COVID data left by the CDC. The podcast highlights the project's impact on public health, policy decisions, and the national response to the pandemic, emphasizing its crucial role in providing accurate data on case counts, hospitalizations, deaths, and racial disparities. The podcast also discusses the challenges faced by the project, including inconsistent data reporting from states, lack of national data standards, and the pressure of providing accurate information in a rapidly evolving situation. The podcast then examines the shortcomings of the CDC, highlighting the need for a major overhaul to address its data collection systems, data standardization, communication with the public, and its ability to respond effectively to public health emergencies. The podcast features interviews with Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who discuss the CDC's "reset" and the need for a more action-oriented public health culture. The podcast concludes by emphasizing that COVID-19 is not over, highlighting the ongoing threat of the virus and the need for continued vigilance. It also discusses the emergence of bird flu and the challenges it poses, emphasizing the need for a robust public health response.
Outlines
The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Public Health Crisis
This episode explores the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on public health, highlighting the shortcomings of the CDC and the importance of data transparency and a robust public health infrastructure. The podcast begins by exploring the myth that COVID-19 was a great equalizer, highlighting the disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities due to pre-existing inequalities and lack of racial data. It then introduces the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-driven initiative that emerged to fill the gap in accurate and timely COVID data left by the CDC.
The COVID Tracking Project: Filling the Data Void
This episode delves into the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-driven initiative that emerged to fill the gap in accurate and timely COVID data left by the CDC. The podcast highlights the project's impact on public health, policy decisions, and the national response to the pandemic, emphasizing its crucial role in providing accurate data on case counts, hospitalizations, deaths, and racial disparities. The podcast also discusses the challenges faced by the project, including inconsistent data reporting from states, lack of national data standards, and the pressure of providing accurate information in a rapidly evolving situation.
The CDC's Need for Overhaul
This episode examines the shortcomings of the CDC, highlighting the need for a major overhaul to address its data collection systems, data standardization, communication with the public, and its ability to respond effectively to public health emergencies. The podcast features interviews with Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who discuss the CDC's "reset" and the need for a more action-oriented public health culture.
The Enduring Threat of COVID-19
This episode emphasizes that COVID-19 is not over, highlighting the ongoing threat of the virus and the need for continued vigilance. It also discusses the emergence of bird flu and the challenges it poses, emphasizing the need for a robust public health response.
Keywords
COVID-19 Racial Data Tracker
A data tracking initiative launched by the COVID Tracking Project to collect and analyze racial demographics of COVID-19 cases and deaths, revealing significant disparities in impact.
Public Health Infrastructure
The systems, resources, and personnel that support public health efforts, including data collection, surveillance, and response to health emergencies.
Data Modernization
The process of updating and improving data systems to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility, crucial for effective public health response.
Data Standardization
Establishing consistent guidelines and formats for data collection and reporting, ensuring comparability and accuracy across different jurisdictions.
Long COVID
A range of persistent symptoms that can occur after a COVID-19 infection, impacting individuals' health and well-being.
Bird Flu
A highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects birds, but can also spread to humans, posing a potential pandemic threat.
Q&A
What was the main purpose of the COVID Tracking Project?
The COVID Tracking Project was a volunteer-driven initiative that emerged to fill the gap in accurate and timely COVID data left by the CDC, providing essential information on case counts, hospitalizations, deaths, and racial disparities.
What were some of the challenges faced by the COVID Tracking Project?
The project faced challenges such as inconsistent data reporting from states, lack of national data standards, and the pressure of providing accurate information in a rapidly evolving situation.
What are some of the key areas where the CDC needs to improve?
The CDC needs to improve its data collection systems, data standardization, communication with the public, and its ability to respond effectively to public health emergencies.
What are some of the potential consequences of not addressing the shortcomings of the CDC?
Failure to address the CDC's shortcomings could lead to a delayed and inadequate response to future pandemics, potentially resulting in more deaths and a greater impact on public health.
What are some of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a robust public health infrastructure, data transparency, and the need for a more proactive and action-oriented approach to public health.
Show Notes
At the height of the pandemic, COVID-19 was talked about as “the great equalizer,” an idea touted by celebrities and politicians from Madonna to then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But that was a myth.
Ibram X. Kendi and Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research worked with The COVID Tracking Project to compile national numbers on how COVID-19 affected people of color in the U.S. Their effort, The COVID Racial Data Tracker, showed that people of color died from the disease at around twice the rate of White people.
The COVID Tracking Project’s volunteer data collection team waited months for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release COVID-19 testing data. But when the CDC finally started publishing the data, it was different from what states were publishing—in some instances, it was off by hundreds of thousands of tests. With no clear answers about why, The COVID Tracking Project’s quest to keep national data flowing every day continued until March 2021.
This week on Reveal: We examine the myth of COVID-19 as “the great equalizer,” what went wrong in the CDC’s response to the pandemic, and whether it’s prepared for the next one.
This Peabody Award-nominated three-part series is hosted by epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera and reported by Artis Curiskis and Kara Oehler from The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.
- Support Reveal’s journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow
- Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/newsletter
- Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Table of contents
United States
