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

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 4, 2021. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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.