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.
In a new study, Columbia University researchers have identified coronavirus mutations in New York City wastewater that seem to appear when severe disease rates begin to rise. This piece, a collaboration between Gothamist and the Documenting COVID-19 project, explains the study’s implications.
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.
In spring 2022, New York City public schools faced another COVID-19 outbreak. Yet cases had become harder to track, adding to uncertainty for parents and teachers.
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.
This retrospective piece walks through the metrics that the U.S. has attempted to use for tracking COVID-19 over the last two years, and how the country’s fractured public health system doomed each one.
The Delta wave in Idaho overwhelmed hospitals in the state and led to record patient transfers. This story, a collaboration between the Idaho Capital Sun and Documenting COVID-19, discusses the surge as a case study of the U.S.’s decentralized hospital system.
Betsy Ladyzhets 