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CDC’s total of COVID-19 deaths inaccurate, some health officials say

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is under fire by health officials; some say the number of coronavirus deaths reported by the agency are inaccurate.

The counts seem to be much lower than what other sources report. Health officials can’t say assess how much lower the CDC’s estimation is. It could be thousands or tens of thousands, they say. But, the concern is more about the system the agency relies on to track COVID-19 deaths.

On Monday, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported 89,562 deaths nationwide. The CDC reported 89,407. This difference is marginal. However, on Friday, the CDC reported 60,299 U.S. deaths whereas John Hopkins reported 86,000.

The CDC depends on the states to submit COVID-19 deaths within 10 days. While 63% are said to comply, the other 37% take much longer. This contributes to why at times current estimates are grossly lower than other sources.

Johns Hopkins has its own system that tracks coronavirus deaths in real time. The CDC doesn’t have that ability but is modernizing its system to do the same. Health officials hope this new technology will be up and running later this year.