Despite encouraging downward trend, Covid deaths in the United States remain high

Coronavirus cases are trending down across the United States as the rollout of vaccines in the country accelerates. But despite the sharp drop in new infections since the start of this year, the death rate in the United States remains at nearly 1,500 people every day. That number still exceeds the peak of the summer, when patients filled Sun Belt hospitals and epidemics in states that reopened prematurely resulted in a record number of cases, although daily deaths across the country were remained lower than the first increase last spring. The number of new cases reported per day remains almost as high as the summer record.

At the same time, officials in Texas and Mississippi have lifted masked warrants as other states end capacity limits on companies.

Most experts believe the worst days of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States are behind us. About 66 million Americans have been at least partially vaccinated and the rate of doses administered has risen to about 2.3 million per day, up from about 1.2 million per day at the end of January and continues to rise.

Combining the number of people vaccinated and the estimates of those who have previously had the virus could mean that around 40% of U.S. residents now have some protection against the virus, according to an analysis. And President Biden on Thursday called on states to make the vaccines available to all American adults by May 1.

But experts also warn the country is not yet clear: Variants of the virus that are more contagious threaten to spike cases again, especially if there are fewer measures in place to control transmission. And states in which new surges start from a higher point could be particularly at risk.

The average number of new cases per day has fallen by more than 75% since the January 8 peak, but the decline in deaths began weeks later and has not been as sharp. Deaths reported by Covid often delay positive cases by weeks, which could help explain why the nationwide death rate is still above its summer peak, unlike new cases.

“As these trends start to move in the right direction, the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths remains too high and is a grim reminder that we must remain vigilant as we work to scale up vaccination efforts,” Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a White House Covid response briefing on Wednesday. “We must continue to use proven prevention measures to slow the spread of Covid-19. They are bringing us closer to the end of this pandemic. ”

A CDC study last week provided new evidence that prevention measures work to stop transmission: Prescribing masks was associated with a drop in cases and deaths, while an increase in cases and deaths was associated with opening meals in person. Dr Walensky called the report a warning against the premature lifting of control measures.