COVID Deaths Plummet After CDC Fixes “Error”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s number of reported COVID-19 pediatric deaths fell dramatically after fixing a “coding logic error.”

Before the CDC fixed the “error,” the agency’s COVID Data Tracker reported 1,755 total deaths among children ages 0 to 17.

After the agency corrected the reporting, that number dropped to 1,339 — 23.7%.

“An adjustment was made to COVID Data Tracker’s mortality data on March 14 involving the removal of 72,277 – including 416 pediatric deaths – deaths previously reported across 26 states because CDC’s algorithm was accidentally counting deaths that were not COVID-19-related,” said Jasmine Reed, a spokesperson for the CDC.

“Working with near real-time data in an emergency is critical to guide decision-making, but may also mean we often have incomplete information when data are first reported.”

Earlier this month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) rebuked the CDC for its “disturbing and shameful” lack of transparency regarding COVID-19 data.

“In the midst of a pandemic, it is unacceptable that CDC would withhold relevant data on COVID-19 that could inform the public and potentially save lives,” Johnson wrote in a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

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Reported pediatric COVID-19 deaths plummet 24% after CDC fixes ‘coding logic error’