According to a Harvard University study, a delayed start in mandatory reporting caused up to 16,623 PCC virus deaths in nursing homes to be omitted from the official count.
The federal government did not require nursing homes to report cases and deaths of COVID-19 until May 24, 2020, more than three months after the first nursing home outbreak at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington. During the first reporting period, the facilities also had the option to communicate retrospective data.
The Kirkland Life Care Center, for example, did not report any cases or deaths of COVID-19 in its first presentation to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although a CDC investigation a month earlier went relate 81 cases and 23 cases. dead at the facility.
The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the new coronavirus, is the pathogen that causes COVID-19.
Although it is still unknown how many nursing home facilities chose not to report cases and retrospective deaths of the CCP virus in the early months of the pandemic, the Harvard study came up with an estimate by collecting data of cases and deaths of the states that collected the information. The researchers compared state and federal data to estimate the likelihood that cases and deaths would not be reported. Estimates were used to produce a cumulative number of cases and deaths in all residences.
“To our knowledge, no previous study has used the available data sources in combination with federal data to estimate COVID-19 cases and deaths at the nursing home. This study aims to fill this gap. “, says the study, led by Karen Shen in the Department of Economics at Harvard University.
The study estimates that nearly 40% of COVID-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes were omitted nationwide before May 24, 2020. The percentage of unreported deaths was particularly high in New York, Maryland and Florida, according to the study, which examined samples of deaths reports from 19 states.
The study found no specific characteristics, such as region, ownership, or rating, among facilities that did not retrospectively report CCP virus cases and deaths.
“This means that facilities of all kinds omitted cases and deaths prior to the first NHSN [National Healthcare Safety Network] presentation, ”says the study. “This may demonstrate a widespread inability of nursing homes to reliably collect data early in the pandemic or that pressures to report fewer cases and deaths were common to all facilities.”
Ivan has reported for The Epoch Times on various topics since 2011.