Comparing COVID-19 Among some Highly Affected States in the United States of America

Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus SARSCoV-2, has had an immense impact on a variety of sectors both worldwide and nationwide. Vast differences are observed among states within the United States of America in terms of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
 Objective: The objective of this paper is to present a means through which we can compare deaths between multiple states, using the index date approach applied by Middelburg and Rosendaal.
 Materials and Methods: Using the CDC COVID-19 tracker, we created two sets of ten states focusing on states with (1) the highest number of deaths and (2) the highest number of deaths per 100,000. We applied features of the authors’ technique in order to compare deaths between certain states through visualizations. We referred to the cumulative number of deaths on each day from January 21st, 2020 to September 30th, 2020, as a percentage of the cumulative deaths 40 days after the first death.
 Results and Discussion: Comparability was established by synchronizing each state to a baseline date, which allows us to adjust for issues that arise from the scales used within a standard cumulative deaths graph, such as a tendency to be driven by the states with the highest cumulative number of deaths. This technique also normalized each state to a standard start date.
 Conclusion: This paper shows the application of a technique that allows for clearer comparisons of COVID19 related deaths between states, as opposed to the use of a standard cumulative deaths graphs.