Sen. Jo Comerford and several of her colleagues have sent a letter to the state’s secretary of health and human services expressing concern about the numbers being reported on COVID-19 across the state, but especially because on face value, it appears Franklin County has a “disproportionately high number of COVID-19-related deaths.”
The letter reads that Comerford, D-Northampton, Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, and others are asking to have a conversation with Secretary Marylou Sudders so they can received the “full range” of necessary data and discuss what the state must do to address the issue and reverse the trend.
Comerford said she and her colleagues decided to “sound an alarm” because they don’t want residents thinking the percentage of people dying — it was about 12 percent of those testing positive in Franklin County as of Monday — is much higher than it really is.
“We obviously have to be concerned about confidentiality, but we have to have the facts, good facts,” she said.
Comerford said she’s confident that one of the major problems for the discrepancies in reporting is that there is still not enough testing being done in Franklin County, and that there are people who have COVID-19 but are recovering without any problems and were never tested.
Currently, cities and towns throughout Franklin County test those who are showing symptoms, which means if a person is asymptomatic or has minor symptoms and hasn’t called a doctor, he or she is not counted in the number of people who have tested positive.
Comerford said she is also very concerned about doctors giving patients a clinical diagnosis via teleconferencing and telling them to self-isolate, but not testing those individuals or reporting the diagnosis to the state.
“It might seem like Franklin County has a disproportionate amount of deaths because I don’t think we’re seeing the full picture of how many people are positive,” the senator said. “It’s a grave concern.”
Franklin County needs an accurate count of how many tests have been done, how many people have tested positive and how many COVID-19 deaths have occurred, Comerford said, adding that she and her colleagues would also like an age breakdown of those numbers.
“There are a lot of missing pieces,” she said. “On the surface, that makes it concerning, so we need to engage in deeper conversations and go deeper.”
Another problem is delays in reporting. She said by the time a facility, hospital or town reports a death to the state and the state verifies it, days have passed.
“The state can do better, and give towns and cities guidance on how to communicate,” she said. “That’s what we want to talk about. I understand it’s difficult in a time of crisis like we’re in to provide good, clear information, but we must.”
She’s hoping the state will come up with uniform standards based on the best public health science possible, and reporting will get better and happen sooner.
“I think communities have to get on the same page,” she said. “Some are reporting their numbers openly, some are not. Some facilities are reporting openly, some are not. The best reporting has to be crisp and clear, and everyone has to be onboard.”
Comerford said her best advice to everyone is to stay home. She said the number of positives are artificially low, while the percentage of deaths being reported due to COVID-19 seems just the opposite because of the skewed testing numbers.
“People need to stay safe,” she said. “There isn’t a better message that I could give.”
Comerford said she will report back to her constituents when she has more information.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.