Fauci: Hospitals Are ‘Overcounting’ COVID-19 Cases in Children

White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci said that hospitals are now overcounting COVID-19 cases in children because they are automatically tested when they are admitted, echoing a narrative that has been repeated by some skeptics for months.

While several news outlets reported that hospitalizations among children with COVID-19 have increased in recent days, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said in a separate interview that most children are not being hospitalized because of the virus. They are instead being hospitalized with separate health issues and are incidentally testing positive, she said.

When asked during an MSNBC interview about the rise in hospitalizations, Fauci said that “quantitatively, you’re having so many more people, including children, who are getting infected.”