The U.S. is averaging more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths a day, according to a New York Times tracker, as the highly contagious omicron variant keeps cases and hospitalizations close to record levels. U.S. new cases are averaging 735,652 a day, up 21% from two weeks ago, although cases appear to be peaking in northeastern states that were among the first to be hit hard. New York City, Cleveland, Chicago and Washington, D.C. are showing case numbers level off and start to fall, Deaths lag cases and hospitalizations and are now averaging 2,029 a day, up up 45% from two weeks ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated data on boosters late Thursday and said unvaccinated Americans aged 50 and older are far more likely to require hospitalization than those who are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot. While many vaccinated people are having breakthrough illness because of omicron, they are suffering mild symptoms and are not at risk of severe illness or death. The unvaccinated are 17 times more likely to end up in a hospital bed than people who had just their primary two doses, the data shows. On a global basis, the total tally for COVID-19 cases hiked up above 342.8 million and the death toll rose above 5.57 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. leads the world with a total COVID-19 case count of 69.3 million and death toll of 860,248.
Source: Marketwatch
