DPH data troubles

The AJC has chronicled a number of issues at DPH in how it tracks and visualizes pandemic data.

• In April 2020, the AJC found data on infections and deaths in nursing homes was inaccurate or severely outdated. The state also had difficulty determining race and ethnicity data of infected individuals at a time when COVID-19 was hitting minorities particularly hard. Independent public health experts said detailed information is vital to understanding trends.
• In April 2020, the AJC found the DPH did not have race data from drive-up testing sites because it did not realize it had left the race field off of its own form.
• In May 2020, the AJC reported Georgia combined data about diagnostic and antibody tests, making it appear the state was testing more people for active infections than it was.
• In May 2020, a chart suggested infections in the biggest counties were dropping over time when no clear downward trend was evident because the dates were out of order.
• In July 2020, the AJC found DPH only knew the race and ethnicity in fewer than 7 out of 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
• In November 2020, an AJC analysis found that Georgia virus rates were likely a third higher than the official tally. As many Georgians were relying on antigen tests, DPH’s dashboard at the time did not include daily results for those tests in its statewide or county-level charts and maps of positive cases. DPH ultimately added this information to its dashboard in the months after the AJC story.
• In late March and early April 2021, DPH took down its vaccine dashboard for nearly two weeks citing ongoing system and data transfer issues.
• In April 2021, the AJC found the state consistently reported higher vaccination rates, particularly among seniors, because DPH used an older and smaller population estimate than the CDC.