Best practices for avoiding infection
Plus: a call to action (we're crowdsourcing data!) and site updates
Much to cover this week so we’ll get right into it! Here are some recent updates to the site:
you may have heard the buzz about dexamethasone, an inexpensive, already-in-use steroid medication that may be the miracle treatment we’ve all been waiting for — but what’s really going on? we’ve updated our treatment explainer to fill you in
something many of you have been waiting for: a comprehensive, deep-dive into pregnancy and COVID by way of our new explainer
we’ve highlighted this one before but given the growing conversation about re-opening policies and why masks matter, here is (once again) our explainer on masks
Crowdsourcing data on COVID & kids: a call to action
Here at COVID-Explained, we have been crowdsourcing data on child care settings which were open through the pandemic, or have reopened recently. We are well aware that it’s odd for this effort to fall to a website of this type. But we were frustrated that no one was doing it. We hope this will prompt more official efforts.
We have two sets of data. First, data on child care settings — primarily very young children — which were open through most or all of the pandemic. Second, we’re collecting ongoing tracking data on child settings — child care, camp, schools — which are open or reopening soon. This data will be tracked by week.
A huge limitation of data like this is coverage — the more data we can get the better. Here’s how you can contribute (you may fall in more than one category!):
I’m involved with a center which has remained open, or closed only briefly: Please contribute to our data here.
I’m a larger child care setting [child care center, camp, school] (>100 children in non-pandemic periods) and I’ve been open OR I’m reopening soon: Please consider being part of our tracking sample. Enter baseline data here.
I’m a parent or teacher and I’d love my child care setting/camp/school to be involved. Great! We have a draft email with information here.
I’m a municipality or school system and I’d love to help. Great! Email us directly: covidexplained@gmail.com
For more on this effort (including limitations), check out the page on our site.
Explainer Highlight: Avoiding Infection
As the summer wears on, and more and more municipalities enter further phases of their re-opening plans, we thought it would be appropriate to feature our tried and true explainer on avoiding infection. This piece walks you through all the best practices (and the rationale behind them) for protecting yourself and your loved ones from the virus. We felt it would be an especially useful refresher as many of you (like many of us!) may be increasingly venturing out into public.
And as usual, if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, here’s our handy, shareable infographic:
Please feel free to share your thoughts, questions, and concerns — you can get a hold of us via email, Twitter, Instagram, and the site itself.