It seems like everyone has Covid-19.
Here's why this wave is probably worse than official data suggests
Covid-19 certainly didn't take a vacation this summer. Virus levels in
the US have been on the rise for weeks, but it's hard to know exactly
how widely it's spreading.
Federal data suggests that the current increases have stayed far below
earlier peaks and notable surges. But judging by word of mouth among
family, friends and coworkers, it can seem like everyone knows someone
who's sick with Covid-19 right now.
...
...
Two imperfect measures of transmission
Tracking Covid-19 trends has always had its challenges. But the rise
of rapid home tests -- and general waning of public interest in
testing at all -- has all but erased the ability to grasp current case
counts nationwide. The CDC officially stopped reporting aggregate
Covid-19 case counts months ago, noting that data had become less representative of actual infections or transmission levels over time.
...
./..
But hospitals have shifted their testing practices, balancing
changing federal requirements and recommendations with local risk
assessments, which makes it difficult to compare data from different
points in time.
"When testing supplies first were readily available, we moved to
testing everyone, including health care workers routinely, including
anybody who was coming in the door for any reason," said Nancy Foster,
vice president of quality and patient safety for the American Hospital Association. "Anybody and everybody got tested."
Although hospitals are still required to report any positive cases,
they've eased back on testing to be more in line with guidance around
other infectious diseases. The focus is on those who are symptomatic,
have been exposed or might be around other high-risk patients.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/01/health/covid-case-data-wave/index.html
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