COVID cases increase as US reaches vaccination milestone
- US is about to reach a vaccination milestone of 200 million
- Hospitalisation rates in the country are up by 25% in comparison to last month
- Delta continues to be the dominant strain in US
United States’ vaccination rates against COVID-19 are about to reach a key milestone of 200 million, however, cases are on the rise too, including highly inoculated areas like New England.
While hospitalisation rates in the country are up by 25% in comparison to last month, new cases in the country climbed from an average of nearly 95,000 a day on November 22 to almost 119,000 a day this week.
The Delta variant of COVID-19, which crumbled the healthcare infrastructure of the country earlier this year, continues to be the dominant strain. On the other hand, the Omicron strain — believed to be more infectious– has been detected in about 20 states.
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The death toll related to COVID-19 cases in the United States is fast approaching the 800,000 mark with daily average deaths being close to 1,600. Such numbers were last seen in October this year.
The situation is not as dire as last year’s surge, before the public had any access to COVID-19 vaccines, but the roughly 60% of the United States population that is fully vaccinated is not enough to prevent hot spots, according to reports from Associated Press.
Reasons like holiday travel, Thanksgiving gatherings and the cold weather are believed to be the reason behind the surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States.
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The booster shot campaign in the country also seemed to kick-off successfully. According to data released by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 48 million individuals have received their booster dose of the COVID vaccine. White House officials noted that 12.5 million shots were administered last week, the highest weekly total since May.
The number of people in intensive care in Minnesota has reached the highest level yet during the pandemic, with 98% of ICU beds occupied. Teams of military medics have been sent into Michigan and New Mexico.
(With AP inputs)
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