How are key demographic indicators related to COVID-19 reported in the United States: A data review protocol—Study description

The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving fast and affecting rich and poor countries; however, the social determinants of the health outcomes associated with COVID-19 have not been well characterized. While there is increasing discussion of COVID-19 disparities in the media, no systematic compilation of data exists that synthesizes what and how official reporting platforms disaggregate demographic indicators of COVID-19 testing, cases, hospitalizations, recoveries and deaths. This review will provide a comprehensive overview of what and how federal and local health officials report COVID-19 cases. Having this information nationally and subnationally can help health officials to deploy a more targeted response effort such as testing, treatment, and contact tracing. This information could be useful for future vaccine development. This data review can reveal gaps in our public health data system, which can lead to recommendations on how to improve data standardization, disaggregation, and reporting, particularly for tracking outbreaks. This protocol may be replicated in other countries to understand how demographic indicators are being reported and their relationship to COVID-19 health outcomes