When I first heard about the Covid Tracking Project, I was very impressed by the work they do to collect the numbers and bring them to the public. At the beginning of my volunteer experience, I chose to do 3 states – Iowa, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. Even though the data can be found on each state’s official website, sometimes it does take longer to find the correct number and put it onto the sheet. This is definitely a job that requires patience and care.
Among the states, I spent the most time on Iowa. It was the first state I did and It took me a while to look around the web page and locate the right number. Through the process, I also learned about new terms such as Antigen test, PCR. I had to carefully read the instructions. First I had trouble locating the hospitalization numbers, eventually I found it under a different section within the dashboard. I could imagine how much work it might require a person to find all these numbers from different pages.
I haven’t got access to actually do a shift yet. But I think the practice rounds really prepared me a lot. People from the team are also very helpful along the way. The use of Slack was super helpful and effective as well for communication. I really look forward to learning more about the project and contribute to the data entry team.