Clarification on Discrepancy In Oklahoma State Department of Health
An Oklahoma doctor discussed a discrepancy in the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s reporting of COVID cases Friday. The discrepancy comes as Dr. George Monks, former president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, said there is a little bit of a lull right now with COVID-19. He said there’s a relatively low number of cases and quite a bit of immunity built up with vaccines and those that have had the virus. However, he still called it a head scratcher as to why the Department of Health is reporting the cases this way.
“I don’t understand why they’ve come up with this new policy,” Monks said. “Those of us who are caring for patients, guiding communities, working to lower the spread of this disease, cannot make informed decisions if there’s additional barriers to quick reporting. We’re really disappointed that the State Health Department is taking this action.”
The department sends out weekly COVID case reports now. Between March 20 and March 26, Oklahoma reported 403 cases. It also lists the previously reported total number of cases throughout the pandemic along with the updated one. The only problem is the difference between those two comes out to 1,807 cases, leaving a discrepancy of 1,404.
“It appears that they’re no longer counting cases where they receive the results more than seven days after the test was taken,” Monks said. “We’re a little confused by the State Health Department coming out with this new way of counting new COVID cases.”
The Health Department told KFOR Friday that the reason for it is in the fine print at the bottom. The 403 cases falls within the listed time frame in late March. The cumulative numbers include those new cases, as well as older ones that were delayed in reporting. However, those that are delayed in reporting or don’t fall within the specific time frame listed do not get included in the “new cases” column.
“This data doesn’t jive with what they’re releasing to the CDC,” Monks said. “It can create an unnecessary lag and really skews the statistics downward.”
Monks said he also sees issues with it due to Oklahomans seeing delayed test results throughout the pandemic. It’s not yet clear what, if any, changes will take place to address the discrepancy. We will have updates as more details become clear.
“I think as COVID moves from an act of emergency to a fact of life, we understand that the State Health Department is going to reallocate resources,” Monks said. “But when it comes to COVID reporting, we really need to look at how the lessons of our past should guide our policy now.”
Oklahomans needing Social Security cards face frustrating wait times
Oklahomans in need of new Social Security cards claim they can’t get the help they need, but federal officials say more aid will soon be available.
Between 12-hour nursing shifts and caring for two kiddos, Mikyla Cartwright stays quite busy.
But lately, much of her free time has been spent on the phone, fighting to find her four month old’s information.
Her son, Xander, was born back in November. Mikayla tells KFOR she opted for the hospital to file for Xander’s Social Security card.
For whatever reason though, the card never came. Come tax time, Mikyla grew concerned and decided to file for Xander’s Social Security card herself.
When she stopped by her local office, she said the door was locked. Mikyla called the number on the door, which didn’t help.
“Longest I was ever on hold was two days, I mean two working days,” said Mikyla. “It just rings, it rings and rings and rings.”
KFOR stopped by a local Social Security office, finding a locked door, a dropbox, a desk filled with pertinent documents and instructions on how to apply from home, and a steady stream of confused Oklahomans.
“I can’t get them on the phone,” said Brian Burnett. “Real frustrated because I come to the city and came all the way from Midwest City.”
“It’s kind of a nuisance,” added Elizabeth Schwisow. “I mean, they could have someone up to help at the front, you know, just to tell people what’s going on.”
The SSA doors, though, haven’t been open for drop-ins for some time due to COVID protocols, except for a few in person appointments for those with dire needs.
“We understand the frustration, and we’re frustrated as well,” said Jose Olivero with the Social Security Administration. “As the pandemic began, nobody was expecting we’d be closed for two years.”
The Social Security Administration is urging Oklahomans who need help applying to call their local office.
But they urge consumers to be patient and know the call could take a while.
“The telephone system has never been set up to have 65 million Americans call in one day,” explained Jose. “So we are trying to expand that capability, and at the same time we have trained our staff to try and keep those calls short, and to the point, so we can get to as many people as possible.”
Complicating matters further, physically filing for Social Security cards is the only way in the Sooner State.
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