Prognosis
Covid Hospital Count Makes Vaccines Seem Less Effective, Researchers Say
Numbers skew when patients test positive but are mainly being treated for something else
University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Widely used methods for counting US Covid-19 hospitalizations can make vaccines appear less effective than they actually are, according to a group of Boston-based researchers.
The researchers say their work raises questions about how the US should approach future booster-shot campaigns and how the country measures the severity of the pandemic. It may also have implications for billions of dollars in bonus payments that have gone to hospitals caring for Covid patients covered under Medicare.