Coronavirus
Six Trustworthy Resources for Relevant Information on the Covid-19 Pandemic
As a doctor who cares for hospitalized patients with Covid-19, I need to be efficient, stay current, and avoid fluff. Here’s where I turn:
The news has been saturated with information on the novel coronavirus going on half a year now. The remarkably relentless virus and its subsequent fallout continue to dominate headlines. As a result, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the unending deluge of information and even become indifferent to it — like someone who ignores the constant drone of an air conditioner or dishwasher.
In the midst of the downpour, there are six places I find myself returning to regularly for the best information on the pandemic. Although I do believe mainstream television, radio, and newspaper sources are valuable, I am excluding them from this list since many have a political bent and often report on similar information spun in a particular right- or left-sided direction. I should note, however, that I do pay attention to these types of outlets and attempt to absorb information from both sides of the political aisle as best I can.
Without further ado:
I. National/international health authorities The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) all maintain frequently updated pages dedicated to Covid-19. Despite the fact that none of them are perfect, they are all trusted resources and particularly useful when looking for statistical data as well as widely applicable guidelines.
II. The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) This organization headquartered at the University of Minnesota emphasizes being frank and honest with the public rather than attempting to manipulate others to serve an agenda. Their homepage contains knowledgeable articles from expert journalists in the field of infectious disease. In addition, the director of CIDRAP, Dr. Michael Osterholm, releases an insightful podcast every 1–2 weeks.
III. Our World in Data Based out of the University of Oxford, Our World in Data is arguably the most comprehensive open-source location for statistics on Covid-19. Their site is a compilation of vast amounts of data from many nations regarding cases, testing, deaths, mitigation trends, healthcare capacities, patient demographics, etc. If you need a great looking chart or graph. This is the place to go.
IV. Google News’ Covid-19 Resource Webpage The CDC actually lists this page among its recommended ‘quality public health literature and resources.’ Google’s site features an interactive map at the top and relevant headlines from multiple news sources compiled chronologically.
V. Medscape Designed as a hub for medical providers, Medscape presents succinct summaries of the latest medical literature. I will often use this site to decide what journal articles are worth a deeper dive. They have a page dedicated to Covid-19. I also enjoy the segment titled, Impact Factor with F. Perry Wilson, a fellow internal medicine physician who regularly shares his astute observations on the pandemic.
VI. Primary Literature If you’re looking to dig into the latest medical studies, these journals are among the best, and as with the other sources I have mentioned, their coronavirus-related content is free of charge. I regularly read from the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Lancet, and the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
Thank you for reading. This list was last updated on 7/15/20. I hope it proves beneficial as we seek to better understand the coronavirus together.
