Healthcare
Texas Downgrades COVID-19 Deaths After ‘Automation Error’
The Texas Department of State Health Services revealed this week that an “automation error” in a new method of reporting COVID-19 deaths led to hundreds of people being mistakenly reported as having died of the coronavirus.
The statistical error put 225 fatalities on the state’s COVID-19 related death toll. A local Texas NBC affiliate stated: “On July 27, the state said 675 deaths were being added to the list of those killed by COVID-19 and that the increase was due to a change in reporting method that relied on death certificates rather than reports from various public health departments.“
According to the data changes from Texas DSHS and posted by NBC Dallas Fort Worth:
The state health department then revised the death totals published those days as follows:
- June 27 — changed from 5,713 to 5,489, +451 instead of +675
- June 28 — changed from 5,877 to 5,650, +161 instead of +164
- June 29 — changed from 6,190 to 5,952, +302 instead of +313
On Thursday, the state said another 322 Texans had died after contracting the virus when they reported the state’s death total reached 6,274.
The Texas DSHS stated in a Tweet that it has corrected the “COVID-19 fatality counts for the week of July 27.”
“An automation error caused 225 fatalities to be included even though COVID-19 was not listed as a direct cause of the death on the death certificate,” it stated.
A new consumer study tested several brands of bandages and found higher levels of fluorine in bandages from Band-Aid, CVS Health, Walmart, Rite Aid, Target and Curad, which contain harmful levels of “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS.
The study by Mamavation and Environmental Health News revealed that out of 40 bandages from 18 different brands, 26 contained organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS.
“Because bandages are placed upon open wounds, it’s troubling to learn that they may be also exposing children and adults to PFAS,” said Dr. Linda S. Birnbaum, the study’s co-author and the former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program.
News Nation reports that the study found the chemicals present in the adhesive part of the bandages. Mamavation said some brands likely used the PFAS in bandages “for their waterproof qualities.”
“It’s obvious from the data that PFAS are not needed for wound care, so it’s important that the industry remove their presence to protect the public from PFAS and opt instead for PFAS-free materials,” Birnbaum said.
According to the study, the chemicals are linked to several health effects, including “reduced immune system, vaccine response, developmental and learning problems for infants and children, certain cancers, lowered fertility, and endocrine disruption.”
While the exposure risk to PFAS through the skin isn’t clear, skin exposure “poses similar health risks” as eating or drinking food contaminated with PFAS, according to a previous study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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