Recent data suggests that new COVID-19 cases in the US have gone down 60% from a spike in September.
Since January 2020, more than 700,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19. And over 45 million infections have occurred across the country. In January 2021, the US had recorded its worst all-time peak, which caused more than 251,800 daily new COVID-19 cases. Although the cases did decline with the rollout of vaccinations, the country again faced a spike in cases during the summer. The spike in cases occurred because of the deadly Delta variant and ease of restrictions. Now it seems the rate of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have once again fallen across the US.
During the mid-September Delta wave, US averaged 127,531 new COVID-19 cases a day. According to John Hopkins University’s data, last week the country averaged 69,011 new cases a day. this is a 60% decline from the mid-September peak. It is also way lower than the country’s all-time peak of January. Furthermore, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations have gone down by 50.4% from the delta-wave peak. The data from John Hopkins also reported an average of 1,369 deaths per day in the past week. Whereas, in mid-September, the number of COVID-19 deaths was at a peak of 2,092.
We are now heading in the right direction … but with cases still high, we must remain vigilant heading into the colder, drier winter months.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Is This the End?
Although this is a significant decline in cases and deaths, experts believe it might not be the end. While talking to CNN, Dr. Richina Bicette-McCain of Baylor College of Medicine recalled a similar decline over the summer. According to Dr. Bicette-McCain, in June, experts declared the pandemic over a ‘bit too early’, which led to a relaxation of protocols and a subsequent rise in cases and spread of the Delta variant.
According to the CDC tracker, 57.9% of the US population are fully vaccinated. However, vaccination rates need to be higher and include more age groups to contain the pandemic. The approval of Pfizer’s vaccine in children aged 5-11 years will likely increase the vaccination rates in the country.
Experts further predict that if no new variants emerge, the virus could likely become seasonal, similar to the flu virus.
Source: CNN
