A coalition of computer coders and medical experts is looking for volunteers — including from the Volunteer State — to help provide better information on COVID-19 coronavirus testing sites.
TechCrunch reported on the one-week-old Coders Against Covid project, which is building a database of testing sites. The team of about 15 developers includes Andrew Kemendo of KesselRun, an Air Force software developer, and Dr. Jorge A. Caballero, a clinical instructor of Anesthesia at Stanford University. The goal is to inform officials tracking the disease and to better distribute the tests where they are needed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that if you believe you need a test, you first need to call your doctor, or local or state health department.
The Find Covid Testing website is here. Their GitHub project, Coders Against Covid, is here. The developers hope to build a map of test sites that is up to date.
According to TechCrunch:
It also could be very useful for individuals – provided it’s used in tandem with screening and telehealth guidance to make sure that people are getting tested based on case prioritization, and according to all possible safety guidelines for the health of those doing the testing.
Kemendo told the Tennessee Star that the project needs health care workers to report testing locations.
“Our #1 challenge right now is collecting good, verified information on testing locations and keeping them up to date so that we don’t overwhelm locations or provide bad information,” Kemendo said by email. “If there are health care providers or testing locations in Tennessee that want people to know that they have testing available and what screening criteria they use, then we need them to contact us to start contributing by: [email protected].”
Health care providers also may provide the information by filling out a Google Document here.
Coders Against Covid currently does not need additional coders, Kemendo said.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
