AP tells staff to 'avoid emphasizing' COVID case counts amid shift in covering pandemic

The Associated Press is shifting in how it covers the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, no longer hyping the number of cases as the Omicron variant continues to infect both the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. 

In an article titled, "Omicron wave prompts media to rethink which data to report," the AP cited COVID case counts and hospitalizations as "barometers of the pandemic’s march across the world" but that the latest surge "is making a mess of the usual statistics, forcing news organizations to rethink the way they report such figures."

"The number of case counts...