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Diving brief:
Dive overview:
Federal government commissioned COVID health systems report for first time capacity, utilization and systems data in March 2020 to better track the impact of the virus on the country's health infrastructure.
At the height of the pandemic, health systems were required to report 62 data elements at CDC — 52 per day and 10 per week — including information on emergency department capacity, number of ventilated patients, and amount of personal protective equipment available.
In May 2023, the government reduced the requirements to 44 data points. At the same time, the CDC stopped reporting new COVID cases and test positivity rates daily.
In a November bulletin, HHS said the change was the result of evolving data needs and the desire to “reduce burden while maximizing efficiency.”
Hospitals were required to report COVID hospitalization data for nearly a year after the public health emergency ended.
They were also given the option to report admissions related to influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, which were health system capacity strained during the last years.
As COVID cases have declined, a new variant, KP.2, started to circulate, according to the World Health Organization.
The CDC said on its website that it encourages “continuous and voluntary reporting of hospitalization data.