As we’ve shared, The COVID Tracking Project will be winding down data compilation on Mar 7. Before then, we’re taking a close look at federal data sources. Today we’re sharing the first installment in a series of analyses on federal testing data: covidtracking.com/analysis-updat…
Federal testing data has made great strides since our first look at it in May. It’s become more standardized and more detailed—you can now download historical state data and 7-day county-level data from the HHS. healthdata.gov/search/og_grou…
But for all those improvements, it still doesn’t line up to state data. Even accounting for definitional differences, 25 states show notable differences between state and federal testing totals: 
Based on conversations with state health officials, we believe these discrepancies are generally arising from problems in the federal data, not the state data. Federal data is not always as comprehensive as what states post, even though it’s more standardized and more detailed.
The best hope of a standardized national testing dataset still comes from the federal government. But to get there, the government must carry the testing data the last mile. It must invest in creating a genuinely trustworthy and comprehensive dataset.
We’re hopeful that the new administration, with its demonstrated understanding of the importance of both testing and data, will make this investment. When it does, the patchwork dataset our project was founded to create will be what we’ve always wanted it to be: obsolete.
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