Weekly average count of “hospital onset” COVID-19 patients in the United States, April 2020 - February 2022. During the Omicron wave, more patients than ever caught COVID-19 at hospitals (nosocomial infections). Data: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Graphic: Allan James Vestal / POLITICO
Weekly average count of “hospital onset” COVID-19 patients in the United States, April 2020 – February 2022. During the Omicron wave, more patients than ever caught COVID-19 at hospitals (nosocomial infections). Data: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Graphic: Allan James Vestal / POLITICO

By Rachael Levy and Allan James Vestal
19 February 2022

(Politico) – More than 3,000 hospitalized patients each week in January had caught Covid sometime during their stay, more than any point of the pandemic, according to U.S. government data analyzed by POLITICO.

The record surge demonstrates the virulence of the Omicron variant and how even hospitals, where infection control is paramount, provided little refuge.

“Any level of hospital transmission is concerning,” said Aaron Milstone, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who focuses on the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. “The data suggests that hospitals should review their practices and make sure they are doing everything they can to protect patients.”

The Omicron variant propelled the worst rates of hospital transmission during the pandemic, despite the widespread availability of vaccines and N-95 masks. Thirty-eight out of the 40 worst days recorded occurred in 2022, according to POLITICO’s analysis, which calculated data through 14 February 2022.

A record 4,734 patients were recorded as having caught Covid-19 in-house on 19 January 2022. [more]

Nowhere is safe: Record number of patients contracted Covid in the hospital in January