All tagged cdc

CDC drops an unexpected bomb: 6 percent of Covid-19 deaths list Covid alone; All others list 2.6 conditions

CDC drops an unexpected bomb: 6 percent of Covid-19 deaths list Covid alone; All others list 2.6 conditions

Tatiana Prophet
Covid-19

STAFF REPORTS

On Saturday night, August 29, 2020, many noticed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a data point on their page entitled “Provisional Deaths.”

The surprising statement was in the introduction to a rather innocuous-seeming chart included under the title: “Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics.”

Under the heading “Comorbidities” came the description: “Table 3 shows the types of health conditions and contributing causes mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death. The number of deaths with each condition or cause is shown for all deaths and by age groups. For data on comorbidities, click here to download.”

How a California woman went untested for coronavirus for 4 days

How a California woman went untested for coronavirus for 4 days

Tatiana Prophet
Health Care

By Anna Maria Berry-Jester and Rachel Bluth

Just weeks into the federal government’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus, a new California case has exposed weaknesses in the testing procedures that could be masking more widespread reach of the disease.

A woman in Solano County, California, who hadn’t traveled abroad or had contact with another known patient with the illness was diagnosed with the virus Wednesday, raising concerns that cases are going undetected because of the federal government’s narrow testing protocols.

The patient sought care at a local hospital before being transferred to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento because of the severity of her case, according to a letter hospital officials sent to members of the campus community. Suspecting coronavirus, doctors at UC Davis asked public health officials about testing for COVID-19, the name given to the illness believed to have originated in Wuhan, China.