The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to impact the United States. While age and comorbid health conditions remain primary concerns in the community-based transmission of the virus, empirical evidence continues to suggest that substantial variability exists in the geographic and geodemographic distribution of COVID-19 infection rates. The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative, spatiotemporal perspective on the pandemic using the state of Wisconsin as a case study. Specifically, in this paper, we explore the geographic nuances of COVID-19 and its spread in Wisconsin using a suite of spatial statistical approaches. We link detected hot spots of COVID-19 to local geodemographic profiles and the presence of high-risk facilities, including federal and state correctional facilities. The results suggest that the virus disproportionately impacts several communities and geodemographic groups and that proximity to risky facilities correlates to increased community infection rates.
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covid19.Explorer : a web application and R package to explore United States COVID-19 data
Appearing at the end of 2019, a novel virus (later identified as SARS-CoV-2) was characterized in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China. As of the time of writing, the disease caused by this virus (known as COVID-19) has already resulted in over three million deaths worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths, however, have been highly unevenly distributed among age groups, sexes, countries, and jurisdictions over the course of the pandemic. Herein, I present a tool (the covid19.Explorer R package and web application) that has been designed to explore and analyze publicly available United States COVID-19 infection and death data from the 2020/21 U.S. SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The analyses and visualizations that this R package and web application facilitate can help users better comprehend the geographic progress of the pandemic, the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (such as lockdowns and other measures, which have varied widely among U.S. states), and the relative risks posed by COVID-19 to different age groups within the U.S. population. The end result is an interactive tool that will help its users develop an improved understanding of the temporal and geographic dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, accessible to lay people and scientists alike.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1759940
- PAR ID:
- 10391206
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PeerJ
- Volume:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 2167-8359
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e11489
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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