The COVID-19 pandemic in data visualizations

It’s been slightly more than a year-and-a-half since the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. For many people, it may be hard to believe it hasn’t been longer.

The global health crisis has changed the ways we work, travel, learn and socialize. It’s exacted an official death toll nearly equal to the population of Ireland (though that’s probably an undercount), permanently altered countless other lives, and exposed flaws in health care systems and the social fabric.

But it's also prompted a period of scientific triumph, as vaccines have been developed at a relatively breathtaking pace (though not everyone with the ability to take one has).

The World Economic Forum has created a number of data visualizations tracing the pandemic's impact. The following are selected excerpts.

The first cases of what would later be identified as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 were reported in China in late 2019. It quickly spread to multiple countries, and by the middle of this month there were about 226 million reported cases globally. Each country’s official caseload over time is represented here by expanding red dots:

The spread of COVID-19 has been uneven within the US. New York City was an early epicenter last year, though other areas including Florida have more recently become hot spots. Official caseload levels over time are again represented here by expanding dots, but this time designated according to county:

Governments around the world implemented travel restrictions, closed schools, and started contact tracing efforts as the virus spread. In many instances these measures waxed and waned in terms of severity depending on the situation. Here, the darker red a country becomes, the more severe the measures over time – and the lighter they get, the less severe:

In some places, vaccination efforts have stalled in recent months amid complacency and skepticism. In others, particularly in Africa, vaccines simply haven’t been made widely available yet. Here, countries turn from white to progressively darker green as the percentage of the population fully vaccinated increases over time:

The Delta variant seems to have made herd immunity unlikely in most countries, at least for now. While predicted future scenarios vary, most experts appear to agree on at least two things: COVID-19 is here to stay, and our ability to contain it will depend on the choices we make.

For more context, here are links to further reading from the World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence platform:

On the Strategic Intelligence platform, you can find feeds of expert analysis related to COVID-19, Vaccination, and hundreds of additional topics. You’ll need to register to view.