https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-898254/v1The COVID-19 Hospitalization Metric in the Pre- and Post-vaccination Eras as a Measure of Pandemic Severity: A Retrospective, Nationwide Cohort StudyThis study suggests that
maybe the numbers of those hospitalized may be made up of more asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic people than has previously been assumed. This is primarily true in the post-vaccination period, which has seen those latter two categories increase as a percentage of the hospitalized.
However, as the authors point out, this is looking at VA hospitals which may not be a good match for the characteristics of national hospitals as a whole. Among other things, as you might guess, the number of women and children is far lower than would be seen in the general population. Further, "
most of the data are from months before the more-transmissible delta variant became dominant." While they offer potentially mitigating information from the end of their observation period (June 30), I think this last point needs to be taken into consideration when considering the rest of the information.
Even if we grant the underlying premise and excuse the timing,
it does not explain why the ICU beds are being filled! Nor does it explain away the
ten fold increase in average daily deaths.
This is a pre-print study and should not be relied on (for all that the media seem to have seized upon it).
p.s. I see that folks here have posted the Atlantic article which relies on this study.
Poll
