AZCOVIDTXT is a SMS (text message) and web-based system developed to help the Arizona community report the health status for members of their household, including symptoms, exposures and issues related to COVID-19. After enrolling, you will have the option to receive additional notifications, tips and resources via SMS (text message).
AZCOVIDTXT is trying to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona. By reporting on the health status of members of your household on a regular basis, health officials can better assess the spread of COVID-19 across our communities.
How long does it take to answer the weekly survey? How long should I to participate?
The survey takes about 1 minute to complete each week. The longer you stay in the progam, the better idea we will have of when COVID-19 stops being a concern. Together we will beat the virus, get back to work, and get back to school.
How long will this project run? What if we stop sheltering in place?
This project will run for about a year and will help identify any second or third waves that may occur. As we begin to open up, it is even more important that you continue to paricipate as cases are likely to surge.
Why are you asking me to give you information on my health?
COVID-19 is moving swiftly through many communities in the United States without us even knowing it. There are still many people who are sick that never get tested and there are people who are only mildly sick that don’t want to go to the doctor. The numbers we see are only “the tip of the iceberg”. The figure below walks you through the process you would have to go through to be reported as a case. This limits the ability to know what is going on in the community! We need your help to see where transmission may be going undetected. This is important so we can help our public health partners know where testing sites, temporary clinics or other resources may need to be set up. It also can help us understand when the disease is starting to decrease!
Why do you ask me questions about other challenges I might be experiencing?
We want to help connect you with local resources. COVID-19 has challenged not just our physical health but our mental health, our jobs, our ability to obtain food, and our ability to obtain things to keep ourselves safe. We want to hear from you about your needs. When you answer that you are facing a challenge, we will send you information about resources that might be helpful to you.
What kind of information are you going to send me?
We know there is so much information out there and it is hard to know what is right and what is wrong. We will use your survey answers to identify the best information to send you. If you say there is someone sick in your house we can send the latest information on how to avoid other people getting sick in the house. Things are changing so fast and we will send you alerts on the latest information on how to protect yourself.
Can I use this to help me know if I have COVID-19?
No, this cannot tell you if you have COVID-19. Only a health professional can tell you for sure if you have COVID-19. We are here to help connect everyone in our community to help reduce the threat this disease has for ourselves and our community.
Most data sources are only reporting COVID-19 data at the county level. AZCOVIDTXT is gathering data at the zip code level which helps health care providers and essential services better assess and prepare for how to better support and protect the individual communities.
AZCOVIDTXT is the only system focused on our local community. It is written, managed and provided by our local community, for our community. AZCOVIDTXT is a group effort between the University of Arizona, Banner Health, and the Pima County Health Department bringing together experts from epidemiology, mental health, medicine, public health and data science.
AZCOVIDTXT works very similarly to backyard weather stations. These stations track weather conditions giving you very localized and detailed information for example on how a storm may be moving through your neighborhood. Similarly, AZCOVIDTXT tracks how people are feeling in their zip code which gives first responders very localized and detailed information about the spread of COVID-19.
Why do we need to do this via text, can’t it be done on the web?
AZCOVIDTXT uses text messages in order to reach those members of our community that may have a cell phone, but that it may not be a “smart phone”, or the may not have reliable or consistent internet access. Anyone with a cell phone can receive a text message and participate in AZCOVIDTXT.
How does AZCOVIDTXT compare to the Google/Apple C-19 app?
While Google and Apple are focusing on “contact tracing“, our emphasis is on cataloging the baseline health and wellness of households and providing support and information to help maintain or improve it. There are many other health related issues that will be exasperated during this time (anxiety, access to food, etc.), and we are trying to provide ways to mitigate those issues that are not purely COVID-related. Other differences from the Apple/Google app are:
AZCOVIDTXT text-message based, rather than an app so there is no need to download it. This is to make it more accessible and hopefully more widely adopted, especially for those that don't have smart phones.
AZCOVIDTXT does not track phones. See our Policy Page for more information.
AZCOVIDTXT is specific to Arizona.
AZCOVIDTXT gathers voluntary data AND sends information to users about resources they need.
Participating in AZCOVIDTXT will provide information at the zip code level on how COVID-19 is spreading through Arizona. Understanding the spread will allow local governments, hospitals, and others to plan and respond more efficiently and hopefully save more lives.
You and your household members cannot be identified or individually tracked. Your data remains anonymous in the system, but the cumulative data will help city, county, and state health officials to assess the spread of COVID-19 throughout our communities, so proper action and support can be taken.
This is a collaborative effort between The University of Arizona, including the College of Medicine – Tucson, the College of Medicine – Phoenix, the College of Nursing, the Mel and Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health, University of Arizona Health Sciences, and Research Innovation and Impact. Learn more on our About page.
Public health agencies collect information on who is sick in a population by conducting what we call public health surveillance. When someone gets sick they are usually only counted if they go to the doctor, get diagnosed (usually this means they are laboratory tested for the pathogen of interest) and it gets reported to the public health department. This means there are a lot of people who are sick and even die due to COVID-19 that never get counted. All of the confirmed cases and deaths that you see mapped on our site are just “the tip of the iceberg” of the real cases of COVID-19 in our state. Even the reports we are collecting directly from you have limitations as we can’t confirm what you have based on your symptoms alone. Together these data create a better picture of what is going on. No system will ever be 100% correct but combining systems gets us one step closer.
Epidemiology is a field where trained epidemiologists study patterns of frequency and the causes and effects of diseases in human populations. Epidemiology provides the scientific footings for evidence-based medicine and allows placement of strategies for improvement in public health. Epidemiology is often referred to as the cornerstone of modern public health research and practice and it relies on a variety of relevant public health areas, including biology, biostatistics, social sciences, and assessing risk of exposure to a threat.
What kind of tests are there for determining if I have COVID-19?
There are two kinds of tests that can be conducted to tell if you have or have had SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19. First is a viral test. This is used to determine if someone is sick right now. The antibody tests, or serology tests, can be taken AFTER someone has been infected. Antibodies take awhile to form in the body so these tests are not good to determine if someone has a new infection but can tell you if you were infected with the virus sometime in the past. It can take several weeks after infection before the antibody test would be positive.
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