Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno County Data in Facebook's New COVID-19 Symptoms Interactive Map
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 4 years ago on
April 20, 2020

Share

No, Facebook doesn’t track your health, the social media behemoth says.
No, Facebook doesn’t store your data, it says.
But, Facebook now aggregates data from an opt-in survey they’re running with researchers at Carnegie Mellon. Today, Facebook released the first maps of the COVID-19 symptoms people have reported county-by-county across the United States.
Mark Zuckerberg says in a post, “Understanding how COVID-19 is spreading is critical for local governments and public health officials as they allocate scarce resources like ventilators and PPE (personal protective equipment), and eventually to decide when it is safe to start re-opening different places.”

Launching a Survey for Health Researchers to Track COVID-19

Facebook says starting today in the U.S., some people will see a link at the top of “News Feed” to an “optional, off-Facebook survey to help health researchers better monitor and forecast the spread of COVID-19.”
Facebook also says if the results are helpful, similar surveys will roll out to other parts of the world.
[covid-19-tracker]

Fresno County Results Comparison

According to the data from the map, 0.58% of people in Fresno County reported COVID-19 symptoms.
Compare that to Santa Cruz County where that number is 1.54% or, 0.75% in Los Angeles County and we get a better sense of our position in the state.
Other Central Valley Counties reported the following:

  • Merced County- 0.61%
  • Tulare County- 0.58%
  • Madera County-— Not enough people responded to show data
  • Kern County- 0.39%

You can see the results for yourself on the map below.

Privacy Concerns

Facebook has faced many questions about privacy in the past several years.
In its news release, Facebook devotes a paragraph to addressing possible questions about the gathering and use of this new data. Here is a portion of that release:
“Facebook doesn’t receive, collect or store individual survey responses, and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) doesn’t learn who took the survey. Facebook’s research partners — CMU, Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland — are committed to only using survey results to study and help contain COVID-19.”
Facebook also provided a link to its “Data for Good” program with more details about the processes and procedures for ensuring the information is protected.
Here is how Carnegie Mellon describes the procedure for data privacy:
“CMU Delphi Research won’t share individual survey responses with Facebook, and Facebook won’t share information about who you are with the researchers. To help them measure results while protecting your privacy, we’ll share a random ID number that CMU will send back to us when someone completes the survey. Then we’ll share a single statistic known as a weight value that doesn’t identify you but helps correct for any sample bias.”

DON'T MISS

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

DON'T MISS

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

16 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

16 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

16 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

16 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

17 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

17 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

17 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

18 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

20 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

21 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

14 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
14 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

15 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

16 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

16 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

16 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

16 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

16 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

17 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend