COVID-Net

Purpose

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) monitors laboratory-confirmed, COVID-19-associated hospitalizations among children and adults.

COVID-NET interactive dashboard

COVID-NET is part of the Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET), which monitors laboratory-confirmed hospitalizations associated with influenza (FluSurv-NET), COVID-19, and RSV (RSV-NET).

How to Use the COVID-NET interactive dashboard

1) Select a topic of interest
To use the COVID-NET interactive dashboard, select a topic to see specific data trends. Topics include hospitalization rates by season, surveillance site, age group, sex, or race and ethnicity as well as clinical characteristics, including underlying medical conditions, reason for admission, and patient outcomes. Hospitalizations can be viewed as weekly, monthly, or cumulative rates. Clinical characteristics can be viewed by month, quarter, or surveillance season.

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2) Select a filter of interest
Topics of interest can be filtered by season, surveillance site, age group, sex, and race and ethnicity. Filters vary by topic, as not all topics have filters available.

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3) Select different ways to view the data
The data can be displayed in a graph or as a table. Right click anywhere in the graph for a tabular view. Hovering your mouse over or selecting a data point or bar in the graph will display detailed information. Some graphs allow you to hide or show data from the legend for detailed analysis.

The rates presented on the COVID-NET interactive dashboard can be used to follow trends and comparisons of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in different demographic groups and over time. CDC uses a Nowcast modeling tool to estimate weekly respiratory virus-associated hospitalization rates for the most recent 3 weeks, before surveillance data are fully reported and while hospitalization reports are still coming in.

This dashboard is updated weekly. Data are preliminary and subject to change as more data become available. Rates for recent hospital admissions are subject to reporting delays that might increase around holidays or during periods of increased hospital utilization. As new data are received each week, previous rates are updated accordingly.

Resource

Curious about how Nowcast works?Learn more

Why COVID-NET Data Are Important

COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates are used to understand trends in virus circulation, estimate disease burden, and respond to outbreaks. Demographic and detailed clinical information, including underlying medical conditions, allow CDC to better understand COVID-19-associated hospitalization trends and determine who is most at risk for severe illness. These data guide public health planning and decision making.

Key Concept

Population-based surveillance is the active collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on a population in a specified geographic area.

COVID-NET: Monitoring COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Case Definition

A case is defined as laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in a person who:

• Lives in a defined COVID-NET surveillance area AND
• Tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 (using a laboratory-based molecular, antigen or serology test) within 14 days before or during hospitalization.

COVID-NET Surveillance Area

COVID-NET currently comprises up to 194 counties and county equivalents in the 14 states participating in the Respiratory Virus Surveillance Network. It covers more than 40.9 million people, or an estimated 12% of the U.S. population. The COVID-NET surveillance area is generally similar to the U.S. population by demographics; however, COVID-NET data might not be generalizable to the entire country.

Calculating Hospitalization Rates

COVID-NET surveillance began tracking COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in March 2020. To calculate COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates, COVID-NET collects the following demographic data from cases:

• Age Group
• Sex
• Race and ethnicity
• County of residence
• Date of hospital admission
• Positive SARS-CoV-2 test result and date

Hospitalization rates are calculated as the number of residents in a surveillance area who are hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, divided by the total population estimate for that area. National Center for Health Statistics bridged-race population estimates are used as denominators for rate calculations prior to the 2020–2021 season. Beginning with the 2020–2021 season, unbridged census population estimates (U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division) are used as denominators.

Collecting Clinical Data

Clinical data collected to describe clinical characteristics of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 include:

• Medical history (e.g., underlying health conditions)
• Clinical course (i.e., progression of the COVID-19 illness such as admission to an intensive care unit [ICU])
• Medical interventions (i.e., medical care for the COVID-19 illness such as need for mechanical ventilation)
• Outcomes (i.e., discharged from the hospital or death)
• COVID-19 vaccination history

Related Sites

• RESP-NET
• FluSurv-NET
• RSV-NET
• Emerging Infections Program
• Preliminary Estimates of COVID-19 Burden for 2024-2025 | COVID-19 | CDC

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Material produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a work of the United States government and is in the public domain.

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