SALEM, Oregon. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Health Authority says it will not provide further details on individual cases of people with COVID-19 who died.
Information in daily OHA publications since the pandemic last spring included the county where the person lived, their age and gender, when the test was positive and when and where they died, as well as whether the person had underlying diseases.
Instead, OHA says it will share information on its panels about trends, underlying conditions and symptoms of COVID-19 that those who died experienced. County counts will also be updated with recently reported deaths.
The measure has generated some reactions, including among state legislators.
State Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, questioned OHA officials about the issue at a virtual budget hearing on Thursday.
“There is a report that OHA has decided to change the way they would change the way they speak or provide information about deaths, with respect to COVID-19,” said Knopp. “My question is, is this true – and if so, how does less transparency coordinate with transparency value statements?”
OHA director Patrick Allen said that detailing the deaths of individuals on a daily basis was time-consuming for the team.
“I think what we’re doing is trying to be smart about how we provide good information to Oregon residents,” said Allen. “We are improving the quality and depth of the information, but doing so in a way that allows our epidemiologists not to waste time looking at press releases and instead trying to figure out how to deal with new variants of the disease or the effectiveness of treatments and this kind of things. “
State Representative Jack Zika, R-Redmond, is also among those affected by the changes.
“I understand that they think this is very time consuming, but we are in a pandemic and information is the key,” said Zika, expressing his frustration.
“What also concerns me is that in the article I read, Governor Brown issued a statement saying that she wants them to provide all the information except the patient’s privacy,” said Zika. “That would include what they are currently doing, so I don’t know why OHA decided to do this.”
Deschutes County Health Services epidemiologist, Dr. Jennifer Faith, said the county will begin providing new information on its website.
“As of today, in our weekly epidemiological report, we have this cumulative number, but we will also provide age-specific details,” she said.
Faith added that she thinks the new information provided by OHA is useful.
“” The press releases had only a kind of general statement about whether or not the person had underlying conditions, and I think that provides more details, “said Faith.
But the Republican Party leader at the Oregon House also voiced strong criticism in a press release released on Thursday:
Republican House leader urges Governor Brown, OHA to reverse the decision to limit COVID-19 information and statistics
Salem, Ore – Republican House leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) issued the following statement in response to the Oregon Health Authority’s decision to limit the release of critical COVID-19 information.
“Yesterday, the Oregon Health Authority suddenly announced that the agency would no longer disclose important information related to COVID-19 deaths in Oregon. This information has been released daily for months without incident and is essential to allow the public to understand how and who the virus is affecting.
“Oregon residents have been asked to sacrifice so much in many ways that they deserve access to all the relevant information available.
“The decision to suspend access to important information questions the governor’s commitment to transparency and accountability at a time when statewide decisions have made Oregon a national outlier, ignoring the CDC guidelines and discarding a science-based approach for the distribution of vaccines. To maintain trust and preserve transparency, Governor Brown and OHA must reverse yesterday’s decision and commit to providing clear, consistent and timely data across all categories going forward. “