It is clear that COVID-19 (SARS-CoV2) infection will be endemic. It has also become clear that contact tracing for this illness has been abandoned. There are highly effective vaccines and oral therapies have been and are being developed. The required reporting of all demographic information for people diagnosed with this disease is particularly onerous and time consuming with no obvious benefit. If contact tracing is not being performed in a very timely matter (within 24 hours) the utility vanishes. While large labs likely have this process automated, smaller labs in physician offices or small clinics do not. It does not make sense to require the reporting of information that is not being utilized. Furthermore, with the availability of OTC COVID-19 tests with no reporting mechanism, these cases are never tracked or acted upon. How does it make sense to track some while knowingly missing the OTC positive cases?

As a better option, I propose the reporting of COVID-19 cases follow the same reporting as influenza did a few years ago. Labs report bulk positives and negatives. A modification would be that COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization be reported with all demographics while all other cases are reported as bulk numbers. Medical offices do not need to be bogged down with administrative work that is not being used in a significantly worthwhile manner.

Reporting all positive covid tests with demographics is an onerous task for health care providers. With the influx and wide use of at home testing, the reported positives by health care providers does not capture the full number of positive cases. 

Demographics are helpful for contact tracing but we know that contact tracing is not being done by the state department of health.

If numbers are important than reporting aggregate negative and positive covid tests should be all that is necessary. 

Thanks for taking this under advisement.

VDH has determined that it will no longer conduct contact tracing on COVID cases.  While this was being done, the collection of demographics on positive cases from point of care testing was essential in this effort.  However, since this tracing is no longer being done, the demographics seem to no longer be useful.

I understand reporting of positive cases and their demographics also stems from a requirement of the CARES Act. However, the supply of tests provided by the CARES Act are expiring or used up.  Would this requirement also hold true for tests that are purchased with non CARES Act funds moving forward?

In the matter of reporting influenza cases we are reporting aggregate positives to the district epidemiologist.  I would like to propose that this be considered for reporting COVID case numbers.