Vermont drops the daily COVID-19 dashboard: Check these alternatives.

As of May 18, the state of Vermont is no longer updating its online COVID-19 case data on a daily basis.

Instead, Vermont will publish a COVID-19 trend report on a weekly basis, which state officials say will help focus on data most useful for monitoring and determining risk in Vermont.

Vermont health officials are telling Vermonters to assess their own risk when determining whether they need to take precautions against COVID-19, such as wearing a mask or physically distancing from others.

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Some Vermonters aren't convinced that doing away with daily updates is the best move and are worried they will be unable to properly determine their own risk.

"If public health agencies want to make public health a private matter, then they need to empower individuals with better data, unambiguous communication, and much better access to the tools they need to protect themselves," wrote Anne Sosin, a researcher on COVID-19 and rural health equity at Dartmouth College, in a Tweet on May 10.

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Vermont's COVID-19 data portal on Sept. 16, 2021, reflected 314 new positive cases. Vermont officials say there was a data glitch that caused some cases to be delayed in reporting.
Vermont's COVID-19 data portal on Sept. 16, 2021, reflected 314 new positive cases. Vermont officials say there was a data glitch that caused some cases to be delayed in reporting.

Why switch to weekly COVID-19 reports?

However, Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine says relying on daily COVID-19 case counts is no longer useful in assessing risk since the widespread use of at-home tests have made the data less meaningful. The new report will include information on the statewide risk level, which Levine called one of the most important pieces of information in determining personal risk level.

"At this point in the pandemic, you really should not be basing your decision on daily fluctuations in case numbers," Levine said during a news conference on May 17.

He added, "This report presents the most valuable data we're using to monitor COVID-19 in Vermont now and moving forward. It shows trends in who is coming to the emergency room with COVID-like illness, an important indicator of virus activity as case counts are no longer reliable."

The new weekly COVID-19 report for Vermont, which will be updated each Wednesday, can be found at healthvermont.gov/covid-19/current-activity.

For Vermonters who want as much information as possible to help assess their personal risk, the following resources may be helpful:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention county view: Classifies counties throughout the U.S. as having low, medium or high transmission of COVID-19 based on seven-day metrics. Data lags a few days behind, but is updated daily. Visit covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view.

  • Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center: Data is updated daily, but may run a few days behind. Map allows visitors to zoom in on specific counties. Visit coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map.

  • Burlington Free Press data: The Johns Hopkins University data fuels the Free Press' tracker: data.burlingtonfreepress.com/coronavirus-curve.

  • Vermont Open Geodata Portal: Datasets from the state of Vermont are updated on a weekly basis on Wednesdays. Visit geodata.vermont.gov/pages/covid-19.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 802-310-8585 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont retires daily COVID-19 data dashboard. How to find risk info.