Coronavirus data used in decision to reopen Georgia flawed

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Coronavirus data used in decision to reopen Georgia flawed

By BEN NADLER and SUDHIN THANAWALA
May 21, 2020

ATLANTA (AP) — Data on coronavirus infections that was a key driver in Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s aggressive push to reopen the state was flawed and may have distorted perceptions of progress against the virus.

Georgia Department of Public Health spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said in an emailed statement Thursday that the department included antibody tests when calculating the total number of tests conducted “since early April,” using the same methodology as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said about 57,000 of the 407,000 total tests reported to the state have been antibody tests.

The inclusion of antibody tests in state testing data was first reported by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Antibody tests look for the presence of a protein that the body makes in reaction to the virus, while other, more common tests, called viral tests, look for the virus itself.

Conflating the two tests can create confusion about the current impact of the virus, said Dr. Richard Rothenberg, an infectious disease expert at Georgia State University. That’s because antibody tests tell you whether a person had the coronavirus in the past, not whether the person was infected at the time of the test.

Combining them can create “a false impression of what is happening now,” he said. ...

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Read more: https://apnews.com/1cb65951963252e7b4d9615f2e70d3b1

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Related: Georgia’s COVID-19 positive rate is higher than what state reports. Here’s why. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

[DBoon]

1. They used data?

I thought the only data involved was the dollar amount contributed to Kemp's campaign.