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WEEKLY ROUNDUP | We made a mistake on COVID-19 death counts, and we want you to understand how it happened

By Mahoning Matters staff and Justin Dennis
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There have been nearly 2,600 new COVID-19 deaths reported this month alone, but Ohioans won't know exactly how many people died of COVID-19 in Ohio this month for some time.

Though Mahoning Matters reported earlier this month that October was on track to have more reported deaths than any month during the pandemic, that was incorrect. Here's why:

When new COVID-19 deaths are reported to ODH and published on the department's online dashboard, those deaths are attributed to the date they occurred. Though a new death may have been added to the tally on Oct. 1, it may have actually occurred sometime in September.

Deaths that occur out of state could be even further delayed, since other state's don't deliver death certificates to ODH on a regular basis, as the dashboard notes.

Mahoning Matters has been internally tracking COVID-19 metrics including new cases, deaths, hospitalizations and vaccinations each day for months. But our spreadsheet merely records the new deaths reported each day, rather than assign them to the date they happened.

According to our internal tally, ODH reported about 2,100 new deaths in December, the month with the most recorded pandemic deaths. But ODH has, presumably, long since verified December's death data, and now reports 5,500 COVID-19 deaths occured that month.

Whereas ODH has reported 2,578 new deaths so far this month — and that's the highest monthly death total ODH has reported for the last several months — that doesn't mean they occurred this month.

So far, ODH has attributed only 1,054 deaths to the month of October, according to the dashboard — and preliminary data continues to be confirmed for days after it's reported.

While ODH reported 1,088 new deaths in September, the dashboard now shows that 2,051 deaths actually occurred that month. That's nearly as many deaths as reported in the previous five months combined.

Other COVID-19 trends in Ohio

Between Oct. 24 and Oct. 30, the state reported:

  • 23,607 new COVID-19 cases, down from 25,144 the week before, including:
    • 555 new cases in Mahoning County, down from 619
    • 513 new cases in Trumbull County, up from 465
    • 383 new cases in Columbiana County, down from 424
  • 1,116 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from 1,596.
  • 590 COVID-19 deaths, down from 594.
  • 38,589 Ohioans have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, up from 33,188.

As of Oct. 30:

  • 6,475,017 Ohioans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, including
    • 121,723 in Mahoning County, an increase of 684 (up from 560 new first doses the week before);
    • 101,065 in Trumbull, an increase of 536 (up from 443);
    • 44,469 in Columbiana, an increase of 334 (up from 244).
  • 55.4 percent of the state population has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Mahoning Valley counties continue to lag behind the state rate.
    • Mahoning County: 53.2 percent;
    • Trumbull County: 51 percent;
    • Columbiana County: 43.6 percent.

Last week's coronavirus news

  • Ohio is adjusting its quarantine recommendations for schools in hopes of keeping students and educators in class more even if they’re exposed to someone who has the coronavirus in a school setting or activity, the state announced last week. The new guidelines allow exposed students to stay in class so long as they wear masks for at least 14 days after exposure, and allows exposed students to continue participating in extracurriculars if they wear a mask and receive two negative coronavirus tests, the Associated Press reported. Canfield Local Schools administrators earlier this month called required student quarantines a "major problem" and suggested they would support such a protocol. School board members last week voted to end the district's mask requirement for students in grades K-6, beginning today.



  • Mahoning County Public Health is offering booster shots of the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines at weekly clinics throughout the month. Those eligible for booster shots should call the agency at 330-270-2855, option 3, to schedule an appointment. Those seeking shots must have completed their primary series at least six months ago and must be 18 years of age or older to receive the booster vaccine. Go here for dates and times as well as more information about eligibility and online sign-ups.



  • The Food and Drug Administration last week paved the way for children ages 5 to 11 to get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA cleared kid-size doses — just a third of the amount given to teens and adults — for emergency use, and up to 28 million more American children could be eligible for vaccinations as early as next week. One more regulatory hurdle remains: On Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make more detailed recommendations on which youngsters should get vaccinated, with a final decision by the agency’s director expected shortly afterwards.



  • Some people with weakened immune systems can now receive a fourth COVID-19 shot to boost protection against the disease, which they may not have received enough of the first, second or even third time around, according to updated guidance posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. COVID-19 vaccines do a remarkable job in protecting people from severe disease, but evidence shows immunocompromised people may not develop as robust antibody responses — or any at all. And doctors aren’t sure how that translates to protection against COVID-19 for anyone, though data from other vaccines shows higher antibody levels typically equal greater immunity, McClatchy News reported.



  • For some, coronavirus-like symptoms linger for weeks or months after their initial infection subsides. Experts call the condition long COVID-19, and it’s been known to affect nearly every organ in the body. Research shows thousands of long-COVID-19 patients report feeling “brain fog,” a non-scientific term used by some people to describe their sluggish or fuzzy minds. Now, a new study adds to the growing body of evidence on the topic, McClatchy News reported.

This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 3:52 AM with the headline "WEEKLY ROUNDUP | We made a mistake on COVID-19 death counts, and we want you to understand how it happened."