COVID case counts may be losing importance amid omicron

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer

The explosive increase in U.S. coronavirus case counts is raising alarm, but some experts believe the focus should instead be on COVID-19 hospital admissions. And those aren’t climbing as fast. Each measurement has its value, health experts say. Keeping an eye on COVID-19 hospital admissions shows the virus is still causing severe disease and threatening fragile hospital capacity. On the other hand, case counts are still crucial for monitoring where hot spots will arise and how fast, keeping in mind that the true number of cases is likely many times higher than the official count.