The Anthology

The Increasing Burden of Dengue Fever in a Changing Climate

Multiple effects of climate change affect the incidence and severity of dengue fever.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Rebecca Glassman, Jonathan Gilmour, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Sam Scarpino

There’s Something in the Air: Monitoring Indoor Air for SARS-CoV-2

Air surveillance in indoor spaces where people gather can be an important complement to clinical and wastewater data.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Rebecca Glassman, Jonathan Gilmour, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Kaitlyn Johnson

Tackling the Complexities of Covid-19 Wastewater Surveillance

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is more complicated than detecting it in a clinical sample, such as a nasal swab. This can introduce ambiguities in the data, which can be overcome by standardizing methodology.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Rebecca Glassman, Jonathan Gilmour, Megan Diamond

The Challenge of Measuring Vaccine Effectiveness

Tightly controlled vaccine trials measure efficacy. In real life, vaccine effectiveness is more complicated. Here are some things to watch out for when interpreting vaccine effectiveness data.

Jacqueline Houtman, Dave Luo, Lindsey Shultz, Samuel Scarpino

A User’s Guide to US Vaccine Breakthrough Rates

We explain breakthrough rates, rate ratios, and vaccine effectiveness, describe the (sometimes problematic) ways jurisdictions report these numbers, and give advice on how to interpret them.

Kara Schechtman, Lindsey Shultz, Dave Luo, Jacqueline Houtman, Rebecca Glassman, Jonathan Gilmour, Leo Wolansky, Kaitlyn Johnson, Jessica Malaty Rivera

Variants, Sublineages, and Recombinants: The Constantly Changing Genome of SARS-CoV-2

The virus that causes Covid-19 continues to evolve, resulting in a vast array of different forms of the virus. Scientists work to make sense of the changes and track those that may pose a threat.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Jonathan Gilmour, Dave Luo, Samuel Scarpino, Rick Bright

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 and its Variants in Wastewater: An Old Technique is Yielding Powerful New Insights in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The CDC’s new data tracker has increased public interest in wastewater. Here is a deep dive into wastewater testing: its history, scientific basis, applications, and future.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Jonathan Gilmour, Dave Luo, Megan Diamond, Rick Bright

Vaccine Inequity Increases the Risk of New SARS-CoV-2 Variants Emerging

Robust genomic surveillance, along with transparency, communication, and global collaboration, is needed to detect and control emerging variants.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Emily Bass, Rick Bright, Dave Luo, Jonathan Gilmour

Tracking State Reporting of Covid-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections

Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough infection data provided by U.S. jurisdictions is incomplete and unstandardized. We are releasing a reporting scorecard evaluating state data with the goal of improving data transparency and interpretability.

Jennifer Clyde, Rebecca Glassman, Dave Luo, Jonathan Gilmour, Michal Mart, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Kara Schechtman, Lindsey Shultz, Leo Wolansky, Kaitlyn Johnson

Genomic Surveillance Is Essential To Track Covid-19 Variants in Both Unvaccinated and Vaccinated Populations

Technological advancements have made sequencing quicker and more affordable, but collaboration, outreach, and trust are needed to achieve representative samples from underserved populations.

Jacqueline Houtman, Rebecca Glassman, Lindsey Shultz, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Emily Bass, Rick Bright

The Critical Challenge of Tracking Breakthrough Infections, and Why We Still Need Better Data Standards

Despite ample vaccine supplies, outbreaks among unvaccinated populations in the US and the appearance of the Delta variant promote infection in fully vaccinated individuals. These breakthrough infections must be carefully tracked.

Jacqueline Houtman, Rebecca Glassman, Lindsey Shultz, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Emily Bass, Rick Bright

Making Sense of Variants: They All Deserve Attention. A Few Merit Concern.

Careful surveillance and study of SARS-CoV-2 variants will help determine the public health threats they pose and the mitigation efforts they require.

Jacqueline Houtman, Lindsey Shultz, Rebecca Glassman, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Rick Bright

The U.S. Can Lead the Way in Vaccine Breakthrough Reporting. Will It Squander This Opportunity

In May 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scaled back on the number of vaccine breakthrough cases it would study and report. More data, not less, is critical to understand the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and to measure vaccine efficacy.

Jacqueline Houtman, Jessica Malaty Rivera, Rick Bright, Lindsey Shultz, Rebecca Glassman