Opportunity 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, cases began to surge across the country, and uncertainty was at an all-time high. 

Data from social media can provide insight into the physical and mental health of populations in specific geographical areas. It can also enable early symptom discovery for diseases in which pathology is evolving and not entirely known. 

Intervention  

Working in partnership with the World Well-Being Project, we launched the COVID-19 Twitter Map, a web-based dashboard, in the spring of 2020. 

It pulled approximately 4 million pandemic-related tweets using the Twitter API each day. Users could view confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths per capita, top symptom mentions, changes in language about stress and anxiety, and more. 

Impact  

The COVID-19 Twitter Map provided actionable information for patients, providers, health systems, and policymakers across the country. We proved that it could identify emerging symptoms and track mental health trends across states during the lockdown. It also supported citizens to make sense of the evolving public health crisis and enabled local governments to advance response efforts in real time.