Less COVID-19 test results being reported in the U.S.

CNN– It’s a lot easier these days to get at-home COVID-19 tests, but many of those test results are not being reported. This leads to a drastic undercount of cases.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates only 7% of positive COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are now being detected. That would mean case rates are actually more than 14 times higher than officially reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also now emphasizing hospitalization rates over case counts. To get a more reliable count of COVID-19 cases, the National Institutes of Health is now working with laboratories to help streamline easier ways to report test results.