Hey. I’ve been working on #COVID19#OpenData for a while now, but the time has come to think bigger. Today I’m announcing the launch of a new project: What Happened? COVID-19 in Canada
Let’s build a unified platform for COVID-19 data in Canada. Together.
This project has three pillars: a definitive timeline, a comprehensive archive and pandemic storytelling.
1. There’s a ton of #COVID19#OpenData out there and we want to stitch it into one definitive dataset covering cases, vaccination, hospitalizations and every other relevant metric. To succeed, we will need to design a standardized way to assemble and present COVID-19 data.
There are gaps in the data that are publicly available. For the complete story, we need to fill these gaps, either by asking for the data or via Access to Information requests. I’ve done this once to fill in the timeline of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan.
2. I’ve talked about the importance of archiving COVID-19 data before. I’ve been keeping daily snapshots of COVID-19 datasets and websites since August 2020. But there’s so much left to add. All those government reports you’ve downloaded, for example.
3. Pandemic storytelling. Help preserve our stories of suffering and resiliency for the next generation and build a platform to share them. Augment these stories with data, or let your words stand on their own.
We need all kinds of help getting this project off the ground. In most cases, no coding experience is required. Help us design a standard for COVID data, track down files for the archive, build tools to make data more accessible and useful or just tell your story.
So what are you waiting for? Scroll down to the bottom of the page and pick a project to jump into. And please feel free to email us (ccodwg@gmail.com) as well.
One thing that has bugged me since the beginning of the pandemic: how did the CDC get sidelined so completely? How did Dr. Fauci, the head of an agency almost no one had ever heard of, become the public face of the COVID response, while CDC Dir. Redfield had almost 0 presence?
Is it as simple as NIAID being in the D.C. Metro area whereas the CDC is situated away from Washington, in Atlanta? (Thanks to Coca-Cola president Robert Woodruff, incidentally)
...among the 76,000 students, staff and faculty that have declared their status. It's not clear how many HAVEN'T declared their status (and thus what the overall vaccination rate is). Waiting for answers from @UofT on this one.
Yes, it's posted on a .gov website. Anyone is allowed to submit comments on articles printed in the Federal Register, which are then posted to regulations.gov alongside the original document.
We simply cannot continue to expand critical care. Additional capacity will exist only on paper. "Hospital beds" are a metaphor. You cannot squeeze blood from a stone.