'Terrible timing': Health experts decry Knox County's reduction in reporting COVID-19 data

In the midst of a record-breaking surge of COVID-19 cases thanks to the omicron variant, the Knox County Health Department has moved from daily to weekly public pandemic updates.

On Friday, the Knox County Health Department reported a record daily count of 1,002 new cases of COVID-19. On the same day, it announced in an email that it would reduce its frequency of reporting to align with the Tennessee Department of Health's weekly updates.

“Because we will be living with COVID-19 indefinitely, this is a step in our operations to standardize COVID-19 reporting,” Kelsey Wilson, director of communications for Knox County Health Department, wrote in an email to Knox News. “We utilize Tennessee Department of Health data for some of our metrics such as percent positivity so it’s logical that we follow their reporting schedule.”

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Friday's huge case count was more than 400 cases higher than the previous day's number. It was 100 cases higher than the previous record set during September's delta variant wave.

“This is terrible, terrible timing,” said Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Omicron and the threat it poses changes on a timescale of days, not weeks. People need to know that, to plan for anticipated demands on health care.”

What COVID numbers will look like

Knox County COVID-19 public benchmark data, including new cases and test positivity rates, will update only on Wednesdays.

Wilson said the department can decide for itself how frequently it updates the public.

The Knox County Health Department has previously changed reporting frequency over the course of the pandemic. It was updating the COVID-19 data twice a week over the summer but reverted to a weekday update when the delta variant arrived.

Wilson said the Knox County Health Department would continue to share data daily with Knox County Schools, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and local health care providers.

“Weekly reporting will still show that (trending) picture,” Wilson wrote in an email to Knox News. “We will still be posting a graphic on social media Monday through Friday with preliminary data points.”

Why Tennessee moved to weekly format

The Tennessee Department of Health declined to comment to Knox News on why it was cutting back frequency of reporting during this surge. The switch to weekly reporting was announced at the end of December.

In a December media briefing, state Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said daily reports were “less relevant” now because at-home testing made daily case reports less accurate.

“We believe the vast majority of at-home testing is not coming up on our radar,” Piercey said. “We don’t really know what the case burden is.”

Piercey said the change would align COVID-19 with weekly reporting for influenza and other diseases.

“We want to look at trends and weekly reporting allows us to do that,” Piercey said.

She said the change in reporting should not alter how people respond to the pandemic and encouraged everyone eligible to get vaccinations and booster shots.

Most state dashboards, surveillance, county-level statistics and downloadable spreadsheets used by academics and journalists to track the pandemic will be updated weekly.

Bill Christian, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Health, said reports like the long-term care facility cluster report, which logs nursing homes that have had cases within the past 28 days, would not change.

Why daily reporting is like a tornado warning

Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, likened disease reporting to weather forecasts. Both need to be shared with enough regularity and accuracy to help people to make decisions about their lives.

“The best practice is to be real clear about what your data tells you,” Benjamin said. “And when you change your reporting, explain why you’re doing it.”

Both state and county health departments said the shift would enable the public to “focus on trends.”

But the difference between trend reporting and daily reporting is like the difference between a five-day forecast and a tornado warning. In an emergency, it's important to get data get out quickly even if it isn't as accurate as it could be.

“The virus doesn’t go away when you’re not looking at it,” Hanage said, adding that though daily reports don't need to go on forever, the timing isn't great given that omicron is spreading at unprecedented rates. “That’s something to talk about after omicron, not in the middle of it.”

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County Health Department moves to weekly COVID-19 case reporting