CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa announced on Wednesday that it will report data in a new process, which will focus on the total number of tests performed, not on the individuals tested.
The change will significantly reduce the state’s positivity rate because it will divide the number of positive tests by the tests performed. Previously, Iowa reported its data ‘COVID-19 on an individual level.
The old method made each Iowan appear in state data only once, no matter how many times they were tested. For example, if someone did 30 tests, they were only reflected in the state’s “Tested Individuals” count once, not 30 times.
This resulted in the state with the highest test numbers and the lowest positivity rate. But Iowa did not show those numbers.
In October, the state’s public health department decided to display the total number of tests performed and the individuals tested to reflect this challenge.
This change, which was announced on Tuesday, will focus exclusively on the total tests performed. The change is expected to go live this week.
Director Garcia said he originally wanted to make the move earlier, but delayed the move because the state department was handling an increase in cases in November.
On vaccines, Governor Reynolds said on Tuesday that the state’s supply of vaccines is increasing. She said the state’s vaccine supply would increase to 62,000 doses, which she said was a 24% increase from the 49,000 the state was receiving.
She also said the White House said the Food and Drug Administration would make a decision on emergency authorization for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine by the end of February.
Governor Kim Reynolds also announced that the state will not move forward with Microsoft’s centralized COVID-19 vaccine scheduling website. Our KCRG-TV9 i9 Investigative Unit reported on Tuesday that several counties were unsure whether they would use the site.
Reynolds cited the challenges that other states faced in vaccine launches, and talks with vaccine partners, about the decision not to proceed with the contract.
“It quickly became apparent that the integration of the many existing registration and scheduling platforms that are used by some of our public health departments, pharmacies and other vaccine providers would not be possible, in a timely manner, without significant disruption to their current systems and we don’t want to slow down the progress we’re making, ”said Reynold.
Instead, Reynolds said the state is shifting its focus from building a new system to optimizing the overall registration and scheduling process for Iowa residents.
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