Massachusetts saw a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations during the Omicron wave, but a recent report found that about half of those cases involved people who tested positive after being admitted for another reason.
Hospitals have long been accused of inflating COVID-19 cases by including anyone who tests positive, even if they only had a mild case and sought care for a different ailment. To help paint a clearer picture of the impact COVID-19 is having on people, Massachusetts is now requiring hospitals to report the number of COVID-positive patients receiving the steroid dexamethasone.
On Tuesday, there were 3,187 people with COVID-19 in Massachusetts hospitals, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health. Of those patients, 49 percent were considered "incidental," in that they tested positive while hospitalized for other reasons. The remaining 51 percent of patients were reported as being hospitalized primarily for COVID-19.