The media is trying to stir up another Covid panic. Here’s our reality check. The latest hospital utilization data in our preferred format is shown here:

Here is a look at COVID-positive hospital census in a year-on-year format:

HHS still does not differentiate between people who are in the hospital for COVID treatment and people who are in the hospital for some other reason but happen to test positive. In Massachusetts, which does break its data out, only 33 percent of hospitalizations in the COVID count for the most recent, were for a primary COVID diagnosis.

The real pandemic hospital story has been persistent underutilization and reduced capacity, and the latest attempt to stoke panic is the most unfounded yet.