New York is asking their hospitals to start breaking out hospitalization data by reason of admission. Covid numbers include people admitted to the hospital for other reasons (broken leg for example) who subsequently test positive for the wuflu.
In Florida it looks like about half the people who are counted as covid hospitalizations were actually admitted due to the rona. In New York, it’s ranging between 20 and 50% based on the governors cold calls.
We know that the numbers for kids are skewed (Fauxi admitted it), it makes sense that the numbers for adults would be as well.
Really can’t blame the hospitals for this. They have been following the CDC guidelines for reporting, plus they get extra dollars for covid patients over regular ones.
For example on page 5 of the guidelines linked above (I added the bolding). Please note that lab confirmed influenza is included with the covid numbers):
9. a) Total hospitalized adult
suspected or confirmed
positive COVID patientsSubset:
b) Hospitalized adult
confirmed-positive COVID
patients
Patients currently hospitalized in an adult inpatient bed
who have laboratory-confirmed or suspected COVID19.Include those in observation beds.
Patients currently hospitalized in an adult inpatient
bed who have laboratory-confirmed COVID-19.
Include those in observation beds. Include patients
who have both laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and
laboratory- confirmed influenza in this field.
As an interesting note on page 8, there is an optional reporting field specifically for remdesivir but no other therapeutics. Any bets as to why? It’s also kind of funny that the guidance document refers to positive tests which somehow become cases (p 23) .
It’ll be interesting to find out how much covid overcounting goes on in New York and if this call for better data spreads to other states. Betting Holcomb doesn’t jump on this bandwagon anytime soon.
ETA: Apparently Ontario’s numbers are inflated by 50% also. Shocking, that.
Midwest Chick's Place 
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