COVID-19 Fact Sheets

COVID-19 Infographic: Tips to Improve Indoor Ventilation in K-12 Schools to Help Reduce COVID-19 Transmission (PDF)
Ensuring that K-12 schools have healthy air to breathe is a no-regret investment and a cost-effective public health measure to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, provide a safer environment, and improve learning.

Understanding the Accuracy of Diagnostic and Serology Tests: Sensitivity and Specificity (PDF)
Diagnostic and serology tests are crucial tools to fight the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other infectious disease pathogens. Understanding a test’s sensitivity and specificity is crucial for evaluating its accuracy and potential use.

COVID-19 Infographic: Tips to make the air in your home safer from SARS-CoV-2 (PDF)
This infographic provides tips on how to improve ventilation and filtration in your home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vea la versión en español de esta infografía.

Vaccines in Development to Target COVID-19 Disease (PDF)
As of August 27, 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had caused over 24 million cases of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To mitigate the spread of the disease, unprecedented investment has been made in both SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and simultaneous scale up of vaccine manufacturing. This document describes vaccine investment and progress made thus far.

Convalescent Plasma and Treatment (PDF)
Convalescent plasma refers to the plasma in the blood of a patient who has recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

COVID-19 Infographic: Stay Healthy on Election Day (PDF)
This infographic provides public tips on how to safely vote in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transmission Mitigation Practices in Public Transportation (PDF)
Public transportation poses serious risks for the transmission of COVID-19. Public transit vehicles like buses and trains are shared by a considerable number of people every day.

Comparison of National RT-PCR Primers, Probes, and Protocols for SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostics (PDF)
This fact sheet provides a detailed comparison of several RT-PCR tests developed by various countries. Our review is limited to those listed in the World Health Organization (WHO) resource of in-house–developed molecular assays that have been used as the national test of choice in many countries and in regional reference laboratories.

Vaccines in Development to Target COVID-19 Disease (PDF)
Since its emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused more than 1.3 million cases and nearly 75,000 deaths globally as of April 06, 2020.1 Currently, no vaccine or proven treatment exists for this virus or any coronavirus.

Review of Mobile Application Technology to Enhance Contact Tracing Capacity for COVID-19 (PDF)
Contact tracing is a mainstay of a robust public health response. The purpose of contact tracing is to identify potentially exposed (and therefore potentially infected) individuals so that they can be quarantined before they develop symptoms, thus preventing further transmission in the community.

US Public Health Programs and Assets Being Used to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic (PDF)
The US emergency preparedness, response, and recovery enterprise consists of a broad range of stakeholders and assets operating at federal, state, and local levels.

Serology testing for COVID-19 (PDF)
Serology tests are blood-based tests that can be used to identify whether people have been exposed to a particular pathogen.

Ventilator Stockpiling and Availability in the US (PDF)
Mechanical ventilation is a vital component of critical services for patients exhibiting severe acute respiratory failure.

Blame and Discrimination Attached to COVID-19 — An FAQ for US Elected Leaders and Health Officials (PDF)
When fear of disease and fear of others collide

PCR Diagnostic Testing for SARS-CoV-2 (PDF)
Diagnostic testing for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is undertaken using 3 approaches: whole genome sequencing, real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR), and serology.

WHO’s Role During Health Emergencies (PDF)
As the health lead for the United Nations, a primary responsibility of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to respond to natural disasters and disease outbreaks.

Financing for Epidemic Response Activities (PDF)
There are several major sources of money that have supported and still may support outbreak response activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 Genetics (PDF)
A summary of findings from the latest phylogenetic research on SARS-CoV-2.

Coronaviruses Fact Sheet (PDF)
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a family of RNA viruses that typically cause mild respiratory disease in humans.