Member since Aug 2023
Betsy Ladyzhets is an independent science, health, and data journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. She runs the COVID-19 Data Dispatch, a newsletter and blog focused on tracking the (continued) pandemic, and is the community manager for Connector at the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Recently, she was a journalism fellow at MuckRock, where she contributed to award-winning COVID-19 investigations. Her work has appeared in Science News, The Atlantic, STAT News, FiveThirtyEight, and other national publications.
https://www.statnews.com/2023/04/20/long-covid-nih-billion/
The federal government has burned through more than $1 billion to study Long COVID, and there’s basically nothing to show for it. This investigation from STAT News and MuckRock explores the National Institute of Health’s failed RECOVER initiative.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-valuable-early-warning-system-for-disease-outbreaks-could-be-shut-down/
Wastewater surveillance has become a valuable tool for tracking COVID-19 and other pathogens. But now its long-term ability to protect public health is in jeopardy. This Scientific American story explores the funding concerns and uneven state commitments at play.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-gut-microbiome-may-have-the-key
A growing body of research suggests that the gut microbiome could play a major role in a debilitating chronic disease that has been on the rise in conjunction with Long COVID. This National Geographic article discusses two recent studies, along with patient research efforts.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/01/cdc-test-airplane-bathroom-wastewater-covid-tracking/672893/
Airplane bathrooms are not most people’s idea of a good time, but they might be a data gold mine for public health. This story for the Atlantic explores the wastewater surveillance potential at 30,000 feet and in many other settings beyond entire cities’ sewersheds.
https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2022/dec/28/uncounted-deaths-covid-communities-of-color/
The true toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on many communities of color is worse than previously known. This feature –a collaboration between MuckRock, USA TODAY, and local newsrooms in three states – explores this trend using data from the CDC and Boston University researchers.
