Skeptical of COVID-19 stats? If there are errors, ‘we want to correct them,’ Dobbs says
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs and his staff are busy busting a COVID-19 myth that sprung up — surprise — on Facebook.
The statement from Facebook: “My father went to a clinic, waited for hours; never tested. The next day clinic called and said my father was positive.”
The comment is one of many on social media indicating the commenter is dubious about MSDH or nationwide statistics on COVID-19. The MSDH produces a variety of statistics daily, based on reports from its own laboratory, hospitals, clinics and private labs.
Each day, MSDH releases the number of new and total COVID-19 positive tests results, a highly anticipated report. No patient names are released, but the MSDH has access to those records.
Dobbs said the viral post included a patient name that the Mississippi State Department of Health could check. So they checked.
The name was not on a list of COVID-19-positive patients, he said. So, in this case, a non-test was not reported as a positive test, as the commenter indicated.
Dobbs is still willing to give the commenter the benefit of the doubt, though. He said the MSDH will be checking with the clinic where the patient went for a test to find out if the wrong number was dialed to report test results to a patient.
“I guess it’s a theory that we were counting false cases,” Dobbs said. “That one was not counted.”
Dobbs added: “If there are errors in the system, we want to correct them.”
