U.S. Ceases Mandatory Reporting of COVID Hospitalizations

[Social Media]

 

As of May 1, 2024, hospitals across the United States are no longer obligated to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, a move that complicates efforts to monitor the ongoing pandemic's trajectory, despite its continued toll on American lives.

 

The CDC announced the cessation of mandatory reporting, signaling a shift that could obscure critical insights into the current state of the pandemic. Throughout the crisis, hospital data served as a vital barometer, guiding public health responses and policy decisions. However, with this latest development, the clarity provided by centralized databases will be notably absent.

 

Journalist Laurie Garrett lamented this transition, characterizing it as the "blackout phase of epidemiology," where patient numbers and locations become shrouded in uncertainty. While hospitals are encouraged to voluntarily submit data on respiratory illnesses, the extent of participation remains uncertain.

 

Recognizing the significance of COVID-19 data for patient safety and public health, the CDC emphasizes the importance of ongoing voluntary reporting. Yet, with the absence of mandatory reporting, the future of data collection hangs in the balance.

 

In a parallel effort, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed reinstating limited reporting requirements for COVID, flu, and RSV data on a weekly basis, slated to take effect in October if approved. This proposal seeks to ensure hospitals have access to essential insights for managing evolving infection control needs.

 

While COVID levels currently remain relatively low, with typical seasonal patterns observed, the absence of comprehensive hospital data poses challenges for accurately assessing the pandemic's scope. BNO News, recognizing the significance of continued reporting, pledges to provide weekly updates on COVID's status, albeit with acknowledged gaps and limitations due to the lack of hospital data.

 

As the nation navigates this transition, the commitment to monitoring and responding to the pandemic remains steadfast, albeit against a backdrop of evolving data collection practices and reporting dynamics.

 

2024-05-04

 

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

42 minutes ago, Social Media said:

In a parallel effort, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed reinstating limited reporting requirements for COVID, flu, and RSV data on a weekly basis, slated to take effect in October if approved. This proposal seeks to ensure hospitals have access to essential insights for managing evolving infection control needs.

 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/05/02/2024-07567/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-and-the-childrens-health-insurance-program-hospital-inpatient

 

A Proposed Rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on 05/02/2024

This document has a comment period that ends in 38 days. (06/10/2024)

p. Conditions of Participation Requirements for Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals To Report Acute Respiratory Illnesses

"In section X.F. of the preamble of this proposed rule, we are proposing to update the hospital and CAH infection prevention and control and antibiotic stewardship programs conditions of participation (CoPs) to extend a limited subset of the current COVID-19 and influenza data reporting requirements. These proposed reporting requirements ensure that hospitals and CAHs have appropriate insight related to evolving infection control needs. Specifically, CMS is proposing to replace the COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza reporting standards for hospitals and CAHs with a new standard addressing acute respiratory illnesses to require that, beginning on October 1, 2024, hospitals and CAHs would have to electronically report information about COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. CMS is proposing that outside of a public health emergency (PHE), hospitals and CAHs would have to report these data on a weekly basis."

 

 

Edited May 3 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

COVID-19 hospitalizations hit record low, the CDC says

There were 5,615 COVID hospitalizations in the most recent week data available.

 

Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit their lowest level ever reported since the pandemic began, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

There were 5,615 COVID hospitalizations in the most recent week data that is available. In comparison, there were over 150,000 weekly admissions at the peak of the Omicron variant circulating in early 2022.

 

"The significant decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths to these new lows is encouraging, showing that our public health measures and vaccination efforts have paid off," said Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News medical contributor.

 

(more)

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-hospitalizations-hit-record-low-cdc/story?id=109793784

 

These below may be among the last official weekly U.S. COVID hospitalization reports we'll see for a while:

 

Odd convergence: 5,000+ current COVID hospitalizations in the U.S., and 5,000+ new COVID hospitalizations for the most recent week:

 

 

 

 

CDC source:

 

The key looming question is will the recent declines be sustained, or be just a temporary seasonal reprieve.

 

Last spring 2023, U.S. COVID hospitalizations (as shown in the charts above) declined markedly into the spring-summer, and then rose markedly again at the end of 2023 and into early 2024. The question is will the same seasonal pattern repeat itself again toward the end of 2024 and into 2025, or the U.S. will get a real sustained COVID reprieve?

 

The year-end 2023 spike had a somewhat lower peak than the year-end 2022 spike, which was a good sign, but weekly new COVID hospitalizations still peaked at more than 30,000 per week just a few months ago.

 

 

Edited May 3 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Robert Paulson]

Even the cdc is starting to get it

[stoner]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

COVID-19 hospitalizations hit record low, the CDC says

There were 5,615 COVID hospitalizations in the most recent week data available.

 

Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit their lowest level ever reported since the pandemic began, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

There were 5,615 COVID hospitalizations in the most recent week data that is available. In comparison, there were over 150,000 weekly admissions at the peak of the Omicron variant circulating in early 2022.

 

"The significant decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths to these new lows is encouraging, showing that our public health measures and vaccination efforts have paid off," said Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News medical contributor.

 

(more)

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-hospitalizations-hit-record-low-cdc/story?id=109793784

 

These below may be among the last official weekly U.S. COVID hospitalization reports we'll see for a while:

 

Odd convergence: 5,000+ current COVID hospitalizations in the U.S., and 5,000+ new COVID hospitalizations for the most recent week:

 

 

 

 

CDC source:

 

The key looming question is will the recent declines be sustained, or be just a temporary seasonal reprieve.

 

Last spring 2023, U.S. COVID hospitalizations (as shown in the charts above) declined markedly into the spring-summer, and then rose markedly again at the end of 2023 and into early 2024. The question is will the same seasonal pattern repeat itself again toward the end of 2024 and into 2025, or the U.S. will get a real sustained COVID reprieve?

 

The year-end 2023 spike had a somewhat lower peak than the year-end 2022 spike, which was a good sign, but weekly new COVID hospitalizations still peaked at more than 30,000 per week just a few months ago.

 

 

 

could you also post the death charts that correlate with the hospitalization ones. will give more info to those who want to see the whole picture. 

[Bkk Brian]

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday it would stop reporting or monitoring COVID-19 case data and transmission rates after the government ends the pandemic's public health emergency designation next week.

The agency will stop using its color-coded COVID-19 Community Levels (CCL) system, which relies on those metrics to track the spread of the virus and will instead primarily rely on hospital admission data.

The government on May 11 will end the COVID-19 public health emergency that allowed millions of Americans to receive vaccines, tests, and treatments at no cost during the pandemic.

"The changes that we're discussing today are happening because the end of the Public Health Emergency means that CDC will have less authority to collect certain types of public health data," said CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Nirav Shah.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230505164728/https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cdc-scale-back-data-collection-us-ends-covid-health-emergency-2023-05-05/

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cdc-scale-back-data-collection-us-ends-covid-health-emergency-2023-05-05/