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COVID-19 DATA DISPATCH: this week, I surveyed state reporting on COVID-19 in K-12 schools. 35 states report case counts in schools; 6 states report in an incomplete form, and 9 states do not report school data at all. Details in the thread: (1/10) https://coviddatadispatch.substack.com/p/nine-states-still-dont-report-school
All my findings are in this public spreadsheet, including links to each state's school data, the reporting granularity, update frequency, and which metrics the state does/doesn't report. (2/10) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jXwm0azUI0f8M_WKaDPMLq4wymN523ovesYYtK1pSx4/edit?usp=sharing
I also developed a simple index to rank states on their school data completeness. The numbers and methodology are in this spreadsheet, and you can see how the states compare in this chart. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jXwm0azUI0f8M_WKaDPMLq4wymN523ovesYYtK1pSx4/edit?usp=sharing (3/10)
New York ranks highest by far, scoring 19 out of 21 possible points on my index. It is the only state to report testing data, including test types, labs used, and even test turnaround times for some schools. (4/10) https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/home
Texas is another highly-ranking state (14 points). It reports recent cases, cumulative cases, and enrollment numbers for over 10,000 schools, as well as sources of infection (in-school vs. out of school). (5/10) https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/schools/texas-education-agency/
Minnesota is one state which provides incomplete data. The state reports a list of schools that have seen at least 5 cases in the past month... but does not provide any specific case numbers. (6/10) https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/situation.html#k121
The 9 states that do not report school COVID data are: Alaska, California, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. If you live in one of these states, I recommend getting on the phone to your governor's office and asking why. (7/10)
Overall, this dearth of school data--particularly the lack of testing and enrollment data--signifies to me that the U.S. is still unable to truly track how COVID is spreading in schools. (8/10)
Volunteer efforts like @thecovidmonitor (which I used to find state links for this analysis) and @ProfEmilyOster's dashboard are useful, but incomplete data compiled by volunteers and surveys can only go so far. (9/10)
With this lack of information at the state and federal levels, I fear that the reopening debates based on minimal evidence which we've seen in the fall will continue into the spring. (10/10)
