Fewer people than ever are being hospitalized because of COVID – Fortune

The number of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 has hit its lowest weekly level since the start of the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports just 5,615 were hospitalized in the U.S. due to the coronavirus the week of April 20, the most recent data available. Thats far below the 150,650 who were admitted the week of Jan. 15, 2022, when the Omicron variant was at its peak.

While the CDC will continue to monitor COVID cases, it is seemingly feeling comfortable enough with current levels and the effectiveness of vaccines that, as of May 1, it has stopped requiring hospitals to report COVID-19 admissions, capacity numbers and occupancy data. (It is, however, encouraging them to report that data voluntarily.)

With the ending of required reporting, the agency says it will archive its current admissions chart.

Emergency room visits and hospitalizations were both down dramatically (falling 17.9% and 14.4% respectively) in the past week. Deaths from COVID were down 10%, the agency says. To date, 1,189,603 people have died from COVID231 of which died in the most recent reporting week.

Vaccination numbers still arent especially high, though. The latest CDC figures show 22.6% of the nations adults are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines and just 14% of people between 6 months and 17 years have received the most recent shot.

Only two counties in the U.S. were classified as having high levels of COVID-19 admissionsWhite Pine County, Nevada, and Ness County, Kansasthough that was due to the low number of people who live in each. In each county, just two people were admitted to hospitals because of the virus. The high/medium/low designation is determined by looking at the number of new admissions per 100,000 people in the countys population.

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Fewer people than ever are being hospitalized because of COVID - Fortune