A Guide to the Atlas
The US Covid Atlas is a free and open source data visualization platform connecting COVID-19 data and community indicators to better understand the impact of the pandemic, from its start through today. Scroll to explore tutorials, video demos, examples of how the Atlas is used in different fields, and more.
Tutorials and Demos
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Public Health
Public health professionals need access to reliable data easily accessible data. The US Covid Atlas can help fill in the gaps. The Atlas lets you explore trends over time to understand and inform public health decisions. Grab screenshots of maps, share a unique link to a specific county map view, or embed an Atlas map view on your website to bolster public outreach and communications.
Get started with these relevant tutorials:
How has the Atlas been used in public health?
- Assessing spatial and racial disparities in COVID-19 mortality
- Understanding how COVID was impacting rural areas early in the pandemic
- Exploring where new hotspots were forming during the Delta variant wave
Want to be featured here? Let us know how you use the Atlas.
Policy
Policy relies on data-driven evidence. Policymakers and staff can explore the impacts of events in their communities using Atlas data and tools. Create a customizable Community Report to communicate data and findings in an easy-to-share online or printable format. Present data tables, maps, and line charts to communicate with stakeholders. Analyze the impact of policy responses over time with temporal exploration.
Get started with these relevant tutorials:
How has the Atlas been used in policy contexts?
- Mapping Michigan’s COVID-19 rates alongside local school district masking policies
- Evaluating the impact of early COVID outbreaks on food supply chains and workers
Want to be featured here? Let us know how you use the Atlas.
Advocacy
Strengthen your advocacy with pandemic data linked to community statistics and social determinants of health. Click on counties for more information on health and socioeconomic indicators, like median income and percent of essential workers. Overlay boundaries of disproportionately impacted communities such as hypersegregated cities and federal Native American Reservations. Visualize racial and ethnic group populations by county to compare with COVID trends.
Get started with these relevant tutorials:
How has the Atlas been used in advocacy?
- Evaluating conditions in the Arkansas Delta to help make care decisions for aging family members
- Calling attention to risks associated with in-person worship and religious gatherings during the pandemic
- Advocating for more complex perspectives in public health maps, linking contexts of history and place
Want to be featured here? Let us know how you use the Atlas.
Research
Explore validated state- and county-level COVID rates and community contextual data from the start of the pandemic until today. The Atlas features data from multiple sources so you can visualize and compare trends across time and place. View raw totals or population-averaged rates for COVID and health indicators. Download data for your own independent research and analysis.
Get started with these relevant tutorials:
How has the Atlas been used in research?
- Assessing the structural barriers and racial group disparities of COVID-19 mortality with spatial analysis
- Exploring dimensions of uncertainty with a spatiotemporal review of five COVID-19 datasets
- Creating a dynamic cyberinfrastructure for interactive exploration of the pandemic
Want to be featured here? Let us know how you use the Atlas.
Media
Report data and embed maps for fact-based journalism. Compare multiple validated county- and state-level data sources for the entire country to check local reporting and case or vaccination trends. Look back to the day, week, or month of major events in your region and watch how COVID rates changed. Download data to conduct analyses for further reporting and investigation.
Get started with these relevant tutorials:
How has the Atlas been used in media and journalism?
- Investigating the link between COVID-19 mortality and internet access
- Reporting on holiday travel during pandemic and infection positivity rates