COVID by the Numbers: Spring 2024

Fact checked by Marley Hall

Explainer

The Verywell COVID-19 tracker updates monthly. The data reflects what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) continue to report after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For the most current information about COVID where you live, check your state's public health department website.

What is the CDC Tracking?

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is no longer tracking COVID-19 cases in the United States. The CDC is reporting hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID, as well as vaccinations. For the most up-to-date information about COVID cases where you live, check with your state's public health department.
  

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, states reported data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the number of COVID cases they had. Over time, states stopped reporting this info and with the end of the public health emergency in the United States, the CDC dropped its case counting as part of its COVID Tracker.

Instead, the CDC has continued to look for trends in hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID as a way to measure the activity of the virus in the U.S. The CDC is also tracking how many people are getting vaccinated against COVID.

For the most current COVID case counts where you live, check with your local public health department.

COVID Hospitalizations

Instead of tracking COVID cases, the CDC is keeping an eye on hospitalizations related to COVID. The CDC can get an idea of how COVID cases might be increasing in different states (even by individual county) by looking at how many hospital visits are related to the virus.

In the last week, the CDC reported a total of 5,615 new hospital admissions related to COVID in the U.S. That was a -14.4% change (decrease) from the previous week.

You can use the CDC's County Check tool to get more info about the rates in your community.

COVID Death Rates by State

The CDC has reported 1,189,603 deaths in the U.S. since tracking started in January 2020. However, as with COVID case counts, the CDC is no longer tracking deaths like it used to.

Now, the CDC shows provisional COVID deaths reported to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Vital Statistics Surveillance (NVSS).

As of April 26, 2024, the CDC reported a -10% change (decrease) in deaths attributed to COVID in the most recent week.

Does the CDC Track COVID Vaccination Rates?

The CDC provides estimates for how many people in the U.S. have received COVID vaccines, including booster doses. Your state's public health department may also be tracking COVID vaccinations.

The CDC reports the following percentages of people in the U.S. who are up to date with the most recent COVID vaccine:

• Children: 14%

• Adults: 22%

• Pregnant persons: 13%
  

To learn more about how COVID data was gathered and tracked during the pandemic and what it means for you, read through the FAQ below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the CDC get COVID data?

Throughout the pandemic, states and the U.S. territories reported certain COVID information to the CDC. In the beginning, data were reported daily. Over time, the reporting frequency decreased to weekly updates. By early 2023, some states had stopped updating the CDC with COVID data.

A lot of this data was collected and reported at the county level. Even when there is not a pandemic, there are certain infectious diseases that states always need to report, meaning that most public health departments are already aware of the need to collect and share data with the CDC.

That said, the COVID pandemic demanded more from state health departments, and having to collect and report data on COVID cases, deaths, and transmission was not easy.

For much of the pandemic, all 50 states were reporting to the CDC, as well as specific jurisdictions. For example, New York City reported its own data separate from New York state.

What information did states report to the CDC?

States told the CDC about how many cases of COVID they had in the state, as well as how many people had died from COVID. States reported the total number of cases since they started keeping track (which included both confirmed and probable cases—though not all jurisdictions reported these figures) and the number of new cases and deaths reported within the last seven days.

Information about COVID testing, hospitalizations, and the number of people who had recovered was also reported. In some cases, the data was presented as a percentage. In other cases, you might see the data displayed as “the rate per 1,000 people” within a given timeframe.

Since each state is not the same size, looking at the number of cases or deaths relative to how many people live in the state tells you more about the spread of the virus than simply looking at the raw data. A high number of cases in a state with a small population would mean something different than the same number of cases in a state that is three times as big.

States also reported some information that was not accessible to the public; the restricted data contained more specific fields that could potentially compromise patient privacy. This data was more meant for public health officials and researchers.

Some states provided data about how communities had been affected by COVID-19. For example, the CDC displayed data that showed how often people were going out in certain parts of the country and related this data on mobility to the level of virus transmission in those areas during specific times.

Some states also provided information about specific populations, such as healthcare workers and people who are pregnant.

How accurate is the data?

The numbers reported to the CDC are as accurate as a state can provide, though they can change. While the numbers were initially updated daily, there were sometimes lags over the weekend or over the holidays. Some states had backlogs of tests from weeks ago, meaning that the data reported was a little behind the current situation.

The totals that were reported sometimes included probable (or suspected) cases and deaths that had not been confirmed. However, some places did not report suspected cases or deaths—only those that have been confirmed. Later on, it may have turned out that those cases were not related to COVID after all, in which case those cases would be dropped from the report.

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are people who get COVID and do not have symptoms. If they aren’t sick and do not realize that they were exposed, they are not likely to get tested. Unless states had the ability to do more widespread testing that included people without symptoms, it’s likely that they were undercounting the total number of COVID-19 cases because asymptomatic people were not included if they did not get a test.

In some circumstances, people who go to the emergency room for symptoms of COVID might be diagnosed with another illness, like the flu or pneumonia. Data on ER visits that could be related to COVID-19 were not reported by all jurisdictions, however.

The data that was reported did not look the same coming from all the different hospitals in the U.S. because healthcare systems do not code diagnoses in the same way. In some cases, the coding classification changes which could affect whether a case is counted as a COVID case or not.

Similarly, deaths from COVID might have been missed if something like pneumonia was listed as the cause of death on a person’s death certificate or in a provider's documentation rather than the death being attributed to COVID.

There were also situations where a person who was sick or had been exposed to someone with COVID did not seek care or did not have access to tests.

It’s also possible that a state counted cases or deaths that actually “belong” to another state’s totals. This can happen if someone lives in one state, travels to another, and gets COVID while they are traveling.

Due to these factors, it’s normal for case and death numbers to change—in fact, they are changing often.

What can I tell about COVID in my state by looking at the numbers?

There are several pieces of data to consider if you want to understand the COVID situation where you live. While the most straightforward numbers are the total case and death counts, these figures don’t give you the full story. When you’re looking at statistics, context is important.

It can be more helpful to look at how the number of cases compares to how many tests your state is doing. If your state is not testing many people, the number of positive cases will not really reflect how many people in your state likely have COVID.

It’s also important to remember that the total numbers—both in terms of testing and confirmed cases—are likely missing people who are asymptomatic. Remember that a person can have COVID-19 without getting sick, but they can still spread it to others without realizing it.

Additionally, looking at the totals from the beginning of the pandemic to the present doesn’t tell you the same information as looking at 7-day averages. You can get a better sense of how fast cases and deaths are rising by looking at how the numbers have changed in the last week as opposed to nearly a year.

If you’re looking at the number of deaths, remember that those numbers are slower to change than the total number of cases. There can be a “lag” between a rise in cases and a rise in hospitalizations or deaths because it takes some time for people to get sick.

How will new variants affect COVID numbers?

New variants of the COVID virus are always emerging, as it's natural for viruses to change over time. Researchers follow new variants closely to see if the changes in the viruses may make them more of a threat—for example, they might become better at spreading or resisting vaccines and treatments. Some changes can also make the virus more likely to make people very sick if they catch COVID.

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page.

Read the original article on Verywell Health.