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El Paso County inmates, also known as “trustees”. (low-level inmates) and sheriff’s officers and mortuary staff help move bodies to refrigerated trailers deployed during outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths, outside the office of the medical examiner in El Paso, Texas, U.S. on November 14, 2020.
Ivan Pierre Aguirre | Reuters
The number of people killed by Covid-19 in the United States could almost double in the coming months despite the deployment of a vaccine nationwide, warn health researchers.
The United States is expected to see 539,000 cumulative deaths by April 1, according to a Dec. 4 report released by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the School of Medicine at the University of Washington.
More than 279,000 people in the United States have died from the virus and more than 14.3 million have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The country is expected to approve and start distributing one or more vaccines as early as December.
IHME researchers predict that the planned vaccine rollout will only reduce the death toll by 9,000 by April 1 and said a rapid rollout of vaccines targeting those at high risk could save an additional 14,000 lives .
“The massive scale-up of immunization in 2021 means that we have the road to return to normal life, but there are still a few difficult months to come,” Christopher Murray, director of IHME, said in a statement. “We need to be vigilant to protect ourselves at least until April, when, as our projections indicate, vaccines start to have an impact.”
Researchers also said increasing mask wear to 95% can save 66,000 lives by April 1 and urged states to implement mandates to mitigate the spread and relieve pressure on the healthcare system. .
“Especially in the northern hemisphere, it’s crucial that governments impose or re-impose mandates that limit gatherings and require masks,” Murray said. “Where the winter push leads to peaks in infections, there will be many people who may still be infected and possibly die before the vaccine is fully deployed.”
The United States is entering a brutal new phase of the pandemic as infections spread across the country and hospitals treat a record number of patients since the start of the pandemic.
The country reported more than 227,800 cases of Covid-19 on Friday, the highest since the start of the pandemic, while 2,600 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins. The United States reports a weekly average of more than 2,000 deaths per day.
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