I’m Betsy Ladyzhets, an independent science, health, and data journalist currently focused on tracking the pandemic. I run the COVID-19 Data Dispatch, a publication that provides news, resources, and original reporting on COVID-19 data sources. I’m also a (part-time) journalism fellow at Documenting COVID-19, a project that obtains, publishes, and reports on COVID-related public records, housed at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation and MuckRock.
Previously, I worked as a data journalist at Stacker and volunteered for the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic. My freelance work has appeared in Science News, FiveThirtyEight, MIT Technology Review, TIME.com, and other national publications.
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As many U.S. schools have put aside safety measures like masks and tests, some parents and experts are trying to improve ventilation in schools. Better air quality in buildings can reduce COVID-19’s spread and improve many other health outcomes. Long COVID causes a wide array of neurological and psychiatric symptoms, compounded in many cases by patients’ difficulties in getting the treatment they need. This story highlights patients’ experiences and potential paths for care. Despite the resurgence of COVID-19 this spring, there are now fewer options for free PCR tests in New York City. A Gothamist analysis of municipal data found that numbers and hours of NYC Health + Hospitals testing sites were cut significantly. The CDC’s new forecasting center aims to be a “weather service for infectious diseases.” But they’re working with poor-quality data, which hinders the predictions. The National Institutes of Health received more than $1 billion to study Long COVID, but its flagship study is moving slowly and frustrating patient advocates. This feature unpacks and provides context for advocates’ major concerns. Health departments can’t just flick a switch — or gaze into the bottom of a toilet bowl — and suddenly get comprehensive COVID-19 trends from wastewater. This piece, a collaboration between the Documenting COVID-19 project and FiveThirtyEight, explains the challenges researchers and health officials are facing. 
Your Kid’s School Needs Better Ventilation to Help Keep COVID-19 in Check
With Mental Health Concerns Often Ignored, Covid Long-Haulers Band Together for Research, Support
New York City quietly closed half its COVID-19 testing sites as omicron rebounded this spring
Partly Cloudy With A 75 Percent Chance Of COVID Exposure
The U.S. has had the most covid cases in the world. Why isn’t it doing more to study long covid?
The National Fight Against COVID-19 Isn’t Ready To Go To The Sewers
Betsy Ladyzhets 