Newlab, The Boston Globe, and the leading health publication STAT News launched the Applied XL COVID-19 Tracker shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic. The immediate data science work of the tracker focused on mining public and private datasets, combining them into one data dashboard and explorer, starting by aggregating data from The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at John Hopkins University, from the COVID Tracking Project and USAFacts.
Shortly after the dashboard launched, it expanded to highlight hotspots of potential health system failures or gaps in medical supply chains. The dashboard now includes COVID-19 Preparedness Scores based on the collection and correlation of state-level data sources such as confirmed cases, population demographics, and measures of medical services capacities.
UPDATE JUNE 2020: As communities around the U.S. and world begin to reopen, COVID-19 infection rates are top of mind for many. Furthering our work to bring truth to media, health, and humanity, we expanded the COVID-19 Tracker to include data around infection rates and trends over time so people can better understand if conditions are improving where they live.
Applied XL: COVID-19 Tracker
Applied XL: COVID-19 Preparedness Scores
Using data from the Center on Rural Innovation, AppliedXL launched Health Preparedness Scores by county inside its COVID-19 Tracker. The scores take into account hospital capacity, human resources, and socioeconomic and age demographics.