The West Virginia Department of Homeland Security has completed its investigation into unreported Coronavirus-related deaths and found no evidence of intentional misreporting by any healthcare facility or practitioner in the state.
The report was released on Wednesday, March 31, and noted that there have been a total of 301 deaths that were misreported to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHR) since the beginning of the pandemic.
“While there are no missing death certificates found during the investigation, not every death certificate that notes COVID-19 as a contributing factor, or as the cause of death, has a corresponding regulatory COVID-19 Death Reporting Form,” the report states.
These COVID-19 death reporting forms were how DHHR officials kept real-time tracking of COVID-19 related deaths. When the appropriate forms didn’t come to the DHHR, the state had to wait until standard death certificates were finished to compile data. This can sometimes take up to seven weeks, the report continues.
“Therefore all COVID-19 deaths were ultimately accounted for in the State of West Virginia through the traditional death certificate process,” the report continues. “Due to the lag time to prepare, submit, and issue a West Virginia death certificate, it is not possible to use a death certificate for near real-time reporting of a COVID-19 death.”
The report found that mistakes were made because those who work in healthcare became “overwhelmed by the course and nature of the pandemic.”
To ensure that this misreporting does not happen again, Gov. Jim Justice announced that a new electronic death reporting system will be coming to the state.
“West Virginia is one of the only states in the country that does not have this,” Justice said of the electronic reporting system.
He added that in the past, West Virginia didn’t need an electronic system, but the pandemic has taught state leaders that this type of system will be important moving forward.
The West Virginia DHHR is just like a lot of things government-related, Justice continued. It lives in the dark ages and it moves too slow. However, members of the National Guard will be brought in to fix the system and get it right.
Not only will the electronic reporting system provide faster reporting for Coronavirus-related deaths, but it will also provide a system to record all deaths moving forward, Dr. Ayne Amjad added.
Members of the DHHR need to investigate different vendors and associated costs for the system before making it a reality, but Amjad said the project will begin as soon as possible.
As a reminder, those who have questions about the Coronavirus vaccine or vaccination process should call 1-833-734-0965. For a list of Coronavirus testing sites and more, visit coronavirus.wv.gov.
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