Deadliest month in US pandemic ends with signs of progress

The deadliest month yet of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has ended with some signs of progress: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations drop, while vaccinations accelerate.

The question is whether the nation can stay ahead of the virus’s rapidly spreading mutations.

The death toll in the United States has exceeded 440,000, with more than 95,000 dead in January alone. Deaths are on average about 3,150 per day, down slightly from about 200 from their peak in mid-January.

But as the schedule turned to February on Monday, the number of Americans in hospital with COVID-19 fell below 100,000 for the first time in two months. New cases of infection last on average 148,000 days, up from nearly a quarter of a million in mid-January. And cases are on the decline in all 50 states.

“While the recent drop in cases and hospital admissions is encouraging, it is offset by the harsh reality that in January we recorded the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic Said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Deaths do not move perfectly in sync up or down with the infection curve. They are a delayed indicator, as it can take a few weeks for people to get sick and die from COVID-19.

Dr Philip Landrigan, an epidemiologist at Boston College, said vaccines are a factor in the sharp drop in cases, but are not the main cause. Instead, he said, the crisis has become increasingly “depoliticized” in recent weeks as more people take into account the threat and how they can help slow the spread of the disease. virus.

“I don’t think you can underestimate the importance of this culture change. I think it is extremely important, ”he said.

After a slow start, the vaccination campaign which began in mid-December is gaining momentum. More than 32.2 million doses have been administered in the United States, according to the CDC. That’s an increase from $ 16.5 million on the day President Joe Biden took office on Jan.20.

The number of shots administered in the week and a half since Biden’s inauguration has averaged around 1.3 million per day, well above the President’s oft-stated goal of 1 million per day. More than 5.9 million Americans have received the required two doses, the CDC said.

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However, the CDC reported on Monday that many nursing home workers do not receive their vaccines when the doses are first offered.

The researchers examined more than 11,000 nursing homes and other such facilities that had at least one vaccination clinic between mid-December and mid-January. While 78% of residents received at least one shot, only 37.5% of staff did so. Surveys suggest that some nursing home workers are skeptical of the effectiveness of vaccines and do not think viruses spread easily from them to the people they care for.

Three mutated variants of the virus from Britain, South Africa and Brazil have been detected in the U.S. The British spread more easily and is believed to be more deadly, but that from South Africa raises even more concern due to early indications that vaccines may not be. be as a protector against it.

The more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate.

Walensky urged Americans to get vaccinated as soon as the vaccines are available to them, and stressed that it is not time to relax basic precautions such as wearing masks.

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Meanwhile, a snowstorm on Monday forced the closure of many vaccination sites in the Northeast, including New York and Connecticut.

And a plan to reopen Chicago schools to around 62,000 students for the first time since March remained uncertain. Last minute negotiations over COVID-19 safety measures with the teachers’ union have been stalled, increasing the possibility of a strike or lockout if educators do not show up for work.

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Kunzelman reported from College Park, Maryland. Associated Press editors Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Marilynn Marchione, Sophia Tareen, Bill Kole and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.