Missouri changes COVID-19 testing reports, separates antibody and viral tests
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced Saturday that it had combined antibody and viral coronavirus testing data, creating an artificially lower percentage of positive tests in the state.
The tests were separated in statewide data Saturday.
Antibody, or serology, tests show whether a person has ever had COVID-19. A viral, or PCR test, shows whether a person is actively infected with the virus.
In statewide data Friday, Missouri reported that about 6.5% of tests conducted in the state were positive. After separating the two types of test, however, the data showed that 8.3% of PCR tests were positive and 4% of antibody tests were positive.
The combination of the two data could cause patients who received both tests to be listed twice.
The DHSS data dashboard now provides separate data for the number of tests completed and the number of patient tests to account for people receiving multiple tests.
“As we continue to learn more about this virus and new tests emerge, we will continue providing better data with greater clarity and transparency to help Missourians make the best decisions for their health care possible,” said Randall Williams director of the Department of Health and Senior Services in a news release about the changes.
The number of serological tests the state was receiving was small enough until about the second week of May that numbers were not substantially impacted, Williams said in a statement provided to The Star. The data had been combined since April 15, when the first reports came in.
CDC instructions
The CDC gave “specific instructions” to staff to report combined testing data, DHSS spokeswoman Lisa Cox said, but that leadership did not learn of the directions until Thursday night.
“We would have never imagined that they would’ve been advised to combine this data when reporting to them,” Cox said.
During a Thursday press conference, when Williams was asked if statewide testing data included antibody tests, he said those numbers did not.
“About four states have gotten in a lot of trouble because they tried to conflate their numbers, I think to drive up their numbers, and we don’t do that here in Missouri.” Williams said.
Williams said in a statement that he was “very concerned” that the CDC had advised the staff to combine the test results.
“I understand our team did what the CDC required them to do and did not maintain one set of data for the CDC and one set for public reporting,” Williams said.
Missouri Democratic Party executive director Lauren Gepford said in a news release that Gov. Mike Parson’s administration has not been honest about testing.
“The lack of transparency, incompetence, and false promises seriously undermine the credibility of the Governor and Dr. Williams and raise even more concerns about the state’s response to the pandemic,” Gepford said.
The Missouri announcement comes one day after federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said they would begin working to take similar measures with nationwide data, according to the New York Times.
One of the CDC’s websites, the Times said, had lumped the two sets of data together. The conflation, officials told The Times, was likely a result of “confusion and fatigue” in state and local health departments preparing data used by the CDC.
Epidemiologists, however, told the Times that such data should never be conflated because it can create a misleading picture of the virus’s spread.
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 1:28 PM.
