I’m Betsy Ladyzhets, an independent data journalist and science writer currently focused on tracking the pandemic. I’m the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the COVID-19 Data Dispatch, a publication that provides news, resources, and original reporting on COVID-19 data sources. Previously, I worked as a data journalist at Stacker, where I managed the outlet’s science, health, and lifestyle content (including pandemic coverage). I also volunteered for the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, where I worked on the core Testing and Outcomes dataset and the COVID Racial Data Tracker. My past freelance work has appeared in Science News, The Open Notebook, and other popular science publications.

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How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus

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Science News took a look at five universities that opened in the fall. Each school cobbled together testing and other surveillance measures, coupled with uneven rules about wearing masks and public gatherings.

Tipsheet: Covering COVID-19 Vaccines

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Since December, the pandemic news cycle has revolved around one thing: vaccines. This article provides tips to keep in mind and resources to bookmark, for both veteran science writers and journalists just now wading into the vaccine beat.

Pandemic tracking for all

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As her final assignment for the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, Betsy reflected on why she started the COVID-19 Data Dispatch and lessons she learned through the 100-day Creators Program.

These 6 graphs show that Black scientists are underrepresented at every level

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More U.S. students are getting science and engineering degrees than ever before. But the gap for Black students in these fields has been stubbornly wide.

The State of State Antigen Test Reporting

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Antigen tests are becoming a major tool for rapid COVID-19 testing. But currently, many states are not clearly distinguishing their antigen tests from PCR tests in their public reporting, which makes it challenging to see the true impact of either test type.

Interrogating Data: A Science Writer’s Guide to Data Journalism

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In many ways, all science writers are already data journalists. This reported feature gives science writers background and resources to start reporting on data.