COVID-19: Data

Data Glossary

For more detailed information on data definitions, visit the NYC COVID-19 GitHub Repository and the Vaccine Data GitHub Repository.

Averages:

Mean: A type of average, calculated by adding data values and dividing by the number of data values.
Median: The middle value of all the values. Half of neighborhoods have a higher value than the median and half have a lower value.
Seven-Day Average: This is calculated by averaging values over the most recent day and the previous six days of data. This helps show trends when the data varies from day to day.

Neighborhood Poverty: The percent of a ZIP code's population living below the Federal Poverty Level, based on the 2014-2018 American Community Survey.

Low Poverty: under 10%
Medium Poverty: 10%-19.9%
High Poverty: 20%-29.9%
Very High Poverty: 30% and over

Percent Positive: Among people who were tested, the percent of people who tested positive.

Rate per 100,000 People: Rates are numbers that are adjusted for population (similar to per capita). They help us compare areas with different population sizes.

For example, if one neighborhood has 1,500 COVID-19 cases out of 25,000 people, and another neighborhood has 2,000 cases among 30,000 people, converting these to rates (6,000 per 100,000 people; 6,660 per 100,000 people) lets us compare how COVID-19 is affecting these two neighborhoods.

We use rates to compare numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and testing, among other measures.

Age-adjusted Rate: Age-adjustment is a statistical process that allows us to compare populations that have significant differences in the number of people in each age group.
Transmission Rate: The number of new cases per 100,000 over the last seven days.
- CDC: Levels of Community Transmission

Testing Types: See our COVID-19: Testing page.

Variant Classifications: The CDC classifies some variants as:

Variants Being Monitored: There is evidence these were more likely to spread, cause reinfection or cause severe illness, but they are no longer circulating enough to pose a significant risk in the U.S.
Variants of Interest: These have genetic markers that have been associated with higher risks of transmission, reinfection or severe illness, as well as reduced vaccine effectiveness.
Variants of Concern: There is evidence these are more likely to spread, cause reinfection or cause severe illness, as well as reduce vaccine effectiveness.
Variants of High Consequence: There is clear evidence that existing prevention tactics, including vaccination, are less effective against these variants.

Vaccinations

Doses Administered: The total doses that have been given to residents and non-residents in NYC. This includes the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer primary vaccine series, the one-dose Johnson & Johnson primary vaccine series, two dose Novavax vaccine series, additional doses of Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson, and bivalent doses of Moderna and Pfizer.

Estimating Doses from Records: Due to possible inconsistencies in the vaccine records of separate doses administered to the same person, our numbers may overestimate the number of people who have received at least one dose and underestimate those who have received more than one dose.

Vaccinations Data Source: Data on COVID-19 vaccines comes from the Citywide Immunization Registry, which collects immunization records for children aged 0 to 18 years and — with their consent — adults aged 19 and older. All administered COVID-19 vaccine doses must be reported to the Registry.

Vaccination Status: The number of NYC residents vaccinated at an NYC facility, as well as city residents who were vaccinated outside of NYC and reported to us by: a provider in the city; the New York State Immunization Information System; the New Jersey Immunization Information System; or the Connecticut Immunization Registry and Tracking System.

Vaccination status is classified into the following categories:

At Least One Dose: People who have received either the first dose of the Moderna, Pfizer or Novavax primary vaccine series or the one dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen primary vaccine series.
Completed Primary Series: People who have received the two-dose series of the Moderna, Pfizer or Novavax primary vaccine series, or the single-dose series of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This was previously referred to as "fully vaccinated."
Additional/Booster Dose: People who have completed the primary series and also received additional doses of an FDA-approved vaccine. This includes first and second booster shots, as well as additional doses for people who are immunocompromised.
Bivalent Dose: People who have received a bivalent dose of vaccine. This may include people who completed the primary series outside of NYC and received a bivalent dose in NYC.

More Information

About the Data | Download the Data

About Health Inequities in Data: Differences in health outcomes and vaccination coverage among racial and ethnic groups are due to long-term structural racism, not biological or personal traits.