COVID-19 dashboard converted to track 3 respiratory illnesses
Sep 18, 2023, 3:38 PM
FILE - This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in a laboratory. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)
(NIAID-RML via AP, File)
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has launched its new Respiratory Illness Data Dashboard, which is set to replace the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The new online tool allows people to track COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity by region across the state, as the COVID-19 dashboard has been retired.
More news: ‘Forever chemicals’ found in clothing could be making us sick
“We hope the new Respiratory Illness Data Dashboard will inform communities and help guide their personal decision-making on prevention measures such as masks and social distancing,
Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, Chief Science Officer at DOH, said in the announcement. “Getting up to date on vaccinations and staying home when you’re sick can also help protect you and those around you against the worst impacts of COVID-19, flu, and RSV.”
Some improvements to the dashboard include the introduction of data from previous years, allowing for easy comparison of current and past levels of disease transmission, along with vaccination rates.
The dashboard provides tools breaking up the data for each disease by region, age group and information on hospitalizations and deaths.
The DOH said that they will keep the dashboard updated weekly through April 2024, and will update it beyond that based on the ongoing COVID-19 infection rates.
