State health experts battle pandemic misinformation in oversight committee

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, misinformation remains rampant, even among elected leaders who oversee state health policy.

Posted 9:27 p.m. Aug 11, 2020 — Updated 10:10 p.m. Aug 11, 2020

Laura Leslie

, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief

RALEIGH, N.C. — Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, misinformation about it is as common as ever.

A recent poll by Axios/Ipsos found nearly a third of Americans believe the official COVID-19 death toll has been inflated, a narrative pushed by conservative pundits and media outlets for months despite being strongly disputed by the nation's top medical experts.

Even among state lawmakers who oversee health policy, misinformation persists, despite months of briefings and question-and-answer sessions with state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen and her staff.

At one of those briefings Tuesday, Cohen brought lengthy presentations on outbreak management progress, budget needs for virus response and expert testimony on how the pandemic is affecting children.

Some Republican lawmakers seemed more interested in quizzing her about social media rumors and conspiracy theories.

Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, said he believes people are being misreported as having died from COVID-19 and asked whether hospitals are getting financial bonuses for such deaths.

"There are absolutely no bonuses for anyone for having COVID deaths," Cohen said. "That is an absolute misnomer. That is not a true thing. And secondly, deaths are determined by doctors, clinicians. That is how they are reported to us."

Rep. Perrin Jones, R-Pitt, a practicing doctor, questioned the state's hospitalization numbers. Jones said he believes many people reported as being hospitalized with COVID were actually hospitalized for other reasons unrelated to the virus, then later found to also be infected.

"A number of the COVID cases I've taken care of recently," Jones said, "were in the hospital for a reason other than COVID."

"We talk to our hospitals all the time," Cohen responded. "They report less than a 1 to 2 percent prevalence of people who they find incidentally to have COVID-19. The vast majority of folks who are in the hospital for COVID-19 came in because of COVID-19, and less than 2 percent are there for some other reason."

"I've seen them coming in the doors," Jones responded.

Committee co-chair Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said he'd been contacted by kindergarten parents who said they would not be allowed to walk their children to the classroom on the first day of school because of a DHHS directive to limit visitors.

"This is becoming a social media issue," Lambeth said.

DHHS Deputy Secretary Susan Perry said the directive isn't intended to apply to parents, as long as they're wearing masks. She said additional guidance to schools will be coming soon, including a clarification of the visitors' policy if needed.

"We want to make sure those families have access to those classrooms," Perry said.

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