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Saturday, April 25, 2020

Using Data from Tracking Studies

Friend Kaiser Fung looks at some of the tracking data is being used in studies.  Instructive about how data is being gathered and used.   Extensive piece at the link.

The first major study using Covid tracking app data stumbles out of the gate

The tracking app studies are on rush order, just like all sorts of Covid-related preprints that have come under scrutiny. I learned about this collaboration between King’s College (UK) and an app developer Zoe Global through a news article proclaiming that 13 percent of the UK have already been infected with the novel coronavirus. This is the catch of the moment, being able to declare that you know what proportion of the population has already been infected.

I discussed the Stanford study the other day, which has received robust criticism from the statistical community (e.g. Gelman). This Covid Symptom Tracker study is much less convincing as a way to measure population prevalence. Its potential value is for rationing test kits to those most likely to test positive but notice that the objective of targeting the most afflicted conflicts with the objective of measuring prevalence, which is a feature of the general population.  .... "

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