Tennessee underreported COVID-19 hospitalizations by about 5,100

 The coronavirus hospitalized about 5,100 more Tennesseans than previously reported over the past 14 months — an increase of more than 20% over prior totals — according to newly backfilled data from the state department of health.

Hospitalizations were underreported by anywhere from one patient to dozens on nearly every day since the start of last summer, according to the new data. The largest share of the unreported hospitalizations occurred during the winter surge.

Tennessee's revised hospitalization total, including the backfilled data, is 29,694.

Sarah Tanksley, a spokesperson for the health department, said the unreported hospitalizations were now revealed because the agency incorporated a new data source from the Tennessee Hospital Association into its COVID-19 tracking efforts.

The hospital association receives patient-level virus data from hospitals, which is more detailed than the facility-level data hospitals provide to the state government, Tanksley said. The health department only recently figured out how to combine the two sources of information, allowing for a more complete accounting of the virus' impact, she said.

Tanksley said a more complete picture of COVID-19 hospitalizations is "helpful in assessing disease severity, impact of vaccination status, demographics of hospitalized patients."

As of Tuesday, Tennessee was reporting an average of about 7,000 infections and 39 deaths from the virus per day. Nearly 3,300 people were hospitalized with the virus, including 79 children. The state is on pace to set a new record for hospitalizations by the end of the week.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2021/08/31/tennessee-underreported-covid-19-hospitalizations-5100/5670622001/