Background: The Covid-19 pandemic is a public health crisis affecting the United States since early 2020, and specifically affecting Ohio since March 2020. Over the course of the past 2 years, the number of cases, deaths, and hospitalizations has fluctuated depending on the different Covid-19 variants, vaccinations, and government mandates. Using publicly available Covid-19 data and vaccination data, a data visualization can be made to explain some of the fluctuations of this public health concern. Using this data visualization, the public can investigate Covid-19 trends based on location, age, time period, and vaccination status. Methods: A web application was developed, using the R Shiny package, to visualize and explore the characteristics of the Covid-19 pandemic since the first case and is updated daily. Data on COVID cases and rates, by county, age range, outcomes, and vaccination are examined in the visualizations. The visualizations are made to be interactive to the user’s own interests. Results: The web application provides users with an interface to request data which respond to the following questions: How do the various levels of Covid-19 vaccination rates compare across different counties in Ohio? Do the fluctuations of Covid-19 Case, Death, and Hospitalization Counts and Rates differ across Ohio counties over the course of the pandemic? Does Covid-19 have a disproportionate effect on people in certain age groups? Conclusion: This application empowers the public to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their own community. The ability to download these displays allows for their use in other future projects, to facilitate data communication. Understanding key factors that played a role in the fluctuations of the pandemic helps people to understand the severity of the pandemic in Ohio.
Authors: Austin Chamroontaneskul, Ethan Chapman, Darek Davis, John Doll, Angela Famera, Ashley Lefebvre, Elliot Maceda, Joshua McCoy, Madison McMillen, Deirdre Sperry, Abby Tietjen
Advisor: A. John Bailer, Statistics
Graduate Advisor: Elliot Maceda, Statistics
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