Analysis: Are overall hospital admissions still the best way to gauge the COVID crisis?

Are hospital admissions still the best way to gauge the COVID crisis? Using the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 to gauge the severity of the pandemic may not give an accurate picture in the Omicron era as more and more patients with the virus are being admitted for other reasons, some scientists say. Clara-Laeila Laudette,Alistair Smout Reuters

MADRID/LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Using the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 to gauge the severity of the pandemic may not give an accurate picture in the Omicron era as more and more patients with the virus are being admitted for other reasons, some scientists say.

Governments have focused on hospitalisations to determine the need for restrictions but the data does not typically differentiate between people admitted because of COVID-19, and those who test positive on wards during routine checks.

MADRID/LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Using the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 to gauge the severity of the pandemic may not give an accurate picture in the Omicron era as more and more patients with the virus are being admitted for other reasons, some scientists say.

Governments have focused on hospitalisations to determine the need for restrictions but the data does not typically differentiate between people admitted because of COVID-19, and those who test positive on wards during routine checks.

"Say you're having a heart attack, come into hospital, and end up testing positive," said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain's University of East Anglia.

"Is COVID-19 the cause of your heart attack? We know it could be. But we can't know at an individual level," he said.

In Britain, the Omicron variant has driven case numbers to record highs since it emerged at the end of November but the number of hospital patients with COVID-19 on mechanical ventilation has barely changed, government data shows.

MADRID/LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Using the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 to gauge the severity of the pandemic may not give an accurate picture in the Omicron era as more and more patients with the virus are being admitted for other reasons, some scientists say.

Governments have focused on hospitalisations to determine the need for restrictions but the data does not typically differentiate between people admitted because of COVID-19, and those who test positive on wards during routine checks.

"Say you're having a heart attack, come into hospital, and end up testing positive," said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain's University of East Anglia.

"Is COVID-19 the cause of your heart attack? We know it could be. But we can't know at an individual level," he said.

In Britain, the Omicron variant has driven case numbers to record highs since it emerged at the end of November but the number of hospital patients with COVID-19 on mechanical ventilation has barely changed, government data shows.

The number of people with COVID-19 in hospital overall has risen, but not proportionately with the rise in infections, while intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy is little changed, according to British Health Minister Sajid Javid.

With death rates relatively stable despite the Omicron surge, some countries such as Spain are looking at whether to adopt new ways of tracking the virus, though epidemiologists say shifting the goal posts does not change the fact hospitals and their staff are still overloaded with COVID-19 sufferers.

MADRID/LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Using the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 to gauge the severity of the pandemic may not give an accurate picture in the Omicron era as more and more patients with the virus are being admitted for other reasons, some scientists say.

Governments have focused on hospitalisations to determine the need for restrictions but the data does not typically differentiate between people admitted because of COVID-19, and those who test positive on wards during routine checks.

"Say you're having a heart attack, come into hospital, and end up testing positive," said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain's University of East Anglia.

"Is COVID-19 the cause of your heart attack? We know it could be. But we can't know at an individual level," he said.

In Britain, the Omicron variant has driven case numbers to record highs since it emerged at the end of November but the number of hospital patients with COVID-19 on mechanical ventilation has barely changed, government data shows.

The number of people with COVID-19 in hospital overall has risen, but not proportionately with the rise in infections, while intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy is little changed, according to British Health Minister Sajid Javid.

With death rates relatively stable despite the Omicron surge, some countries such as Spain are looking at whether to adopt new ways of tracking the virus, though epidemiologists say shifting the goal posts does not change the fact hospitals and their staff are still overloaded with COVID-19 sufferers.

Data from New York this month showed that 42% of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 were so-called incidental cases, people admitted for other reasons and only found to be infected during routine testing.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson even said last week that as many as 30% of people in hospital with COVID-19 actually become infected while hospitalised - something Hunter partly attributed to Omicron's overwhelming contagiousness.

Hunter said intensive care occupancy was a better measure of the real severity of an outbreak: "If you're in an ICU bed with COVID, you're probably there because of COVID, rather than just with it."

In Italy, regional governments have argued that the nuances within the statistics on coronavirus hospitalisation may warrant overhauling their monitoring systems to better reflect the relatively lower severity of Omicron. ...

In Ireland, 58% of those in hospital testing positive did not have any symptoms, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland, which looked at about 45% of all positive COVID-19 cases admitted to Irish hospitals on Jan. 11.

It found more than 70% of those hospitalised with COVID-19 did not need oxygen therapy, suggesting they suffered from a less severe form of disease than previously seen. ...