.@cdcgov published report on more than 800 COVID hotspots happening between March and Mid July. A few key report findings in thread below, but first question is why isn’t all data related to hotspots publicly available in real time?
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/6… 1/x
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/6… 1/x
Hotspot cities or counties have right+need to know that WH or @cdcgov considers them hotspots. Not only political, pub health, medical professionals, but also the public. If public understands their community is a hotspot, could create better decisions, stronger resposne 2/x
This federal data on COVID trends should all be public + transparent in real time. Why isn't it? Data in new CDC report ends July 15. What are designated hotspots around country in last month? Why isn’t that conveyed to people living in these places? 3/x
In this new CDC report, hotspots have a technical definition that you can read on page 3. Probably most importantly they are counties w/ >100 cases in past 7 days, and a week over week rising incidence. (Unclear if WH Task Force determination of hotspot is same as CDC) 4/x
Between March and July a quarter of the counties in the country were “hotspots”. Those counties are where 80% of population lives. Did those counties know that at that time they were a hotspot? 5/x
Report says at start of pandemic, hotspots mostly in counties where there were LTCFs, correctional facilities, food processing. And says that over time those counties have decreased in number, and in more recent months community transmission in other counties increased.6/x
Implications: we continue to need to do better to protect people in high risk institutions, but that's not enough. Whole communities need to wear masks, practice social distancing, prevent and avoid large gatherings. 7/x
Report says there's been shift over time in urban density of hotspots--moving from metro counties to those w/ lower density, and that hotspot numbers increased in south+west in June/July. All obvious now, but would've been good to know back at earliest moments of new trends.8/x
CDC has sent 92 teams to help with these hotspots over time. It would have been valuable for a community to know that CDC was there on the ground to respond to a hotspot, likely concerning and hopefully very motivating for more serious effort to control the disease.9/x
Going forward, when a federal task force or agency detects dangerous COVID trends in a county or a city, it should be publicly conveyed when that trend is identified, and strong concrete actions taken by political leaders, urged on by the public. /end
