Thread by @Andre__Damon

⚠️ Warning ⚠️

The US is moving to end daily #COVID19 case/death reporting.

As the US government claims that "most people are going to get COVID", there is a systematic effort to end daily reporting of COVID-19 deaths and cases.

Please share this 🧵
wsws.org/en/articles/20…

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On Jan 6, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will no longer require hospitals to report the daily number COVID-19 deaths to the HHS starting Feb 2. A viral tweet by this author reporting this action prompted mass anger.

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https://twitter.com/Andre__Damon/status/1482069977826009092

. @DataDrivenMD , who originally broke the story reported in the tweet above, called the HHS dataset that was being ended "*the only* source of real-time death counts for every U.S. hospital."

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https://twitter.com/DataDrivenMD/status/1482410782461628417

. @DrWilliamKu warned on Jan 20, "I believe this is a true scandal. HHS death data was more timely than CDC death data for the most recent seven days because CDC allows many states to report them late."

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https://twitter.com/DrWilliamKu/status/1484218952356331520

The outpouring of opposition promoted immediate efforts to deny the significance of the HHS's action, with Business Insider (whose CEO was charged with securities fraud for making "misleading" statements) calling this author's tweet... "misleading."

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businessinsider.com/misleading-vir…

Business insider then amended their article to add this critical point by @DataDrivenMD

"This policy change means that, just as Omicron deaths skyrocket, we'll be in the dark about it.

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In reality, the ending of HHS death reporting means that COVID-19 death data for states including Florida, Nebraska, and TN will be delayed for up to one week and subject to political pressure by state governments.

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https://twitter.com/Andre__Damon/status/1484673174478499847

PEW writes that "A Shift Away from Daily COVID Case Counts Has Begun"

TN "shifted from daily to weekly reporting of new COVID-19 cases Jan. 1,"

FL, IA, NK "moved to weekly counts last summer... Alaska, Kansas and Michigan publish case data" 3x/wk

pewtrusts.org/en/research-an…

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The NYT reported that the "Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists... has also been in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about possible guidance that would direct states to limit daily case reporting."

nytimes.com/2021/12/30/us/…

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There are indications that the new HHS guidance is already distorting reporting on what is actually happening in hospitals.

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https://twitter.com/DataDrivenMD/status/1482913095819300864

This takes place as Business Insider (In another, this time excellent, article) warns about the surge of in-hosptial COVID-19 transmissions, as nurses are "instructed to come into work with symptomatic COVID-19."

businessinsider.com/hospitalized-p…

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Meanwhile, in the words of the New York Post, "NYC hospitals [are] overrun with bodies" as a "backlog at the city Medical Examiner’s office that is having a ripple effect at local hospitals."

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nypost.com/2022/01/20/nyc…

As Pew makes clear, the effort to cut COVID-19 case/death reporing comes as the US government embraces the policy of allowing COVID-19 to become 'endemic,' "infecting nearly everyone."

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pewtrusts.org/en/research-an…

The same day as the HHS announced that it would end daily death reporting, @ZekeEmanuel , accused of advocating eugenics, published an article calling for the US to "retire" COVID-19 death reporting as part of making COVID-19 the "new normal."

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