The following press release was released by IDPH on 2/16/22 regarding COVID-19 Reporting changes on the IDPH website.

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IDPH Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sarah Ekstrand

sarah.ekstrand@idph.iowa.gov
 

(Des Moines, IA) Beginning today, following the expiration of the State Public Health Disaster Emergency Proclamation, Iowans can find COVID-19 reporting data on the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) website here. The data on the page will be updated weekly on Wednesdays. The reporting format more closely aligns COVID-19 with existing reporting standards for other respiratory viruses, like flu. This data will continue to give statewide partners and the public, a thorough understanding of disease prevalence throughout the state. The new format will contain data points that Iowans are used to seeing reported including positive test data and vaccine administration data. 

Reporting Updates

• IDPH will no longer require testing entities to report negative COVID-19 test results. With the influx of rapid in home tests and the frequency of testing currently occurring, this data point is no longer as meaningful as it once was.
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• IDPH is no longer requiring Long Term Care facilities to notify the department when they have three or more infections in residents, therefore this will no longer be reported publicly by IDPH. Instead, IDPH will use CMS data to identify facilities with positive cases  and will assist in infection control. Information on Long Term Care facilities can be found here.
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• IDPH began collecting COVID related data from Iowa hospitals in March 2020 to satisfy state and federal data reporting requirements throughout the pandemic response. The state is no longer  requiring this reporting to occur. However, the US Department of Health and Human Services will continue to require hospital data reporting, and Iowans can access that information here.
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• In the transition to the new reporting format, IDPH discovered 6,700 COVID-19 positive test results dating back to March 2020 that had not been previously reported. These test results were for individuals who received both a positive and negative test result on the same day, causing an error in the reporting logic which prevented them from being included in the daily counts. The error did not prevent Iowans from receiving accurate test results. These tests have now been included in the total number of positive test results since the start of the pandemic.
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COVID-19 vaccine is available state wide and IDPH urges all eligible Iowans to get vaccinated for COVID-19 to get vaccinated and to get a booster. Iowans who still have questions about the vaccine should speak to their health care provider. Find vaccine providers here.

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