Tag: August data

In the past week (August 21 through 27), the U.S. reported about one million new cases, according to the CDC. This amounts to:

• An average of 142,000 new cases each day
• 303 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
• 3% more new cases than last week (August 14-20)

Last week, America also saw:

• 86,000 new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals (26 for every 100,000 people)
• 6,000 new COVID-19 deaths (1.8 for every 100,000 people)
• 99% of new cases now Delta-caused (as of August 21)
• An average of 900,000 vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)

COVID-19 cases in the U.S. just keep rising, approaching 150,000 new cases a day. Case numbers have not been this high since January, during the winter surge. The case rise does seem to be decelerating, however: cases are only up 3% this week compared to last week, after much higher jumps in late July and early August.

It’s worth emphasizing here that, per the CDC’s latest estimates, a full 99% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are driven by Delta. Alpha, the variant we were all so worried about back in the spring, is down to just 0.2% of cases. On a practical level, that means anywhere you may encounter the coronavirus—at a restaurant, on the train, at an elementary school—this virus is highly transmissible, capable of spreading between unvaccinated people in just a few seconds.

Florida and Louisiana continue to be major COVID-19 hotspots, but Mississippi is now seeing the country’s highest case numbers—753 cases per 100,000 residents in the past week, per Friday’s Community Profile Report. Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas all recorded over 500 cases per 100,000 last week as well. Hurricane Ida, now on track to hit New Orleans, is sure to complicate COVID-19 prevention efforts in Louisiana and other coastal states.

While the South lights up with record cases and hospitalizations, every single state is currently seeing high coronavirus transmission, according to the CDC’s categories (over 100 new cases per 100,000 in the past week and/or test positivity over 10%). Almost every county is in the red as well.

Almost 90,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID-19 right now, about three-quarters of the way to last winter’s peak. While vaccinations continue to increase, we’ll need more mitigation than just shots in arms to control this current surge.

In the past week (August 7 through 13), the U.S. reported about 800,000 new cases, according to the CDC. This amounts to:

• An average of 114,000 new cases each day
• 244 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
• 18% more new cases than last week (July 31-August 6)

Last week, America also saw:

• 71,000 new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals (21.5 for every 100,000 people)
• 3,400 new COVID-19 deaths (1.1 for every 100,000 people)
• 97% of new cases now Delta-caused (as of August 7)
• An average of 740,000 vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)

COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are now solidly over 100,000 new cases a day, a benchmark not hit since early February. And, per the latest CDC estimates, 97% of those cases are Delta.

It cannot be overstated how dire the COVID-19 situation has become in southern hotspots. If one is to calculate the cases per capita in all U.S. states and countries of the world, three states make the top five: Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi.

Top 5 cases/capita in the world in any country or state with population >1 million
1. Louisiana 121/100,000
2. Georgia (country) 100/100,000
3. Florida 99/100,000
4. Mississippi 96/100,000
5. Botswana 96/100,000
Fully vaccinated in Georgia and Botswana 6%

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) August 13, 2021

In these states, hospitals are filling to a degree not seen since New York City at the beginning of the pandemic. For example, in Brevard County, Florida, local officials are asking residents to avoid calling 911 unless the situation is truly dire. “Leave emergency room and ambulance trips for those with life-threatening or serious emergencies,” the county’s fire chief told CBS News.

Florida as a whole now has about 14,000 patients in state hospitals, per HHS data. During the winter surge, the state peaked at under 8,000. And more than half of patients in state ICUs are sick with COVID-19. Florida and Texas combined account for over 40% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the country.

As this Delta surge progresses, one major challenge may be that not enough Americans are getting tested—especially those who are vaccinated. While the vaccines are very good at protecting against severe disease and death, including from Delta, breakthrough infections have become more common; if these cases are not caught, they can fuel coronavirus spread among the unvaccinated. Overall test positivity in the U.S. has been about 10% for the past two weeks, per HHS data, indicating that we’re missing a lot of those infections. In some southern counties, it’s well above 20%.

This surge’s silver lining continues: vaccinations are still going up. Almost one million new doses were reported in a single day on Saturday. But vaccination alone is not enough to completely stop COVID-19’s spread, especially when a variant as contagious as Delta has taken the reins.

In the past week (July 31 through August 6), the U.S. reported about 630,000 new cases, according to the CDC. This amounts to:

• An average of 90,000 new cases each day
• 192 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
• 34% more new cases than last week (July 24-30)

Last week, America also saw:

• 54,000 new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals (16.4 for every 100,000 people)
• 2,600 new COVID-19 deaths (0.8 for every 100,000 people)
• 93% of new cases now Delta-caused (as of July 31)
• An average of 700,000 vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)

Delta continues to dominate COVID-19 cases in the U.S. The CDC updated its variant estimates this week, reporting that Delta made up 93% of U.S. cases at the end of July.

This variant has now solidly beat out pretty much every other COVID-19 strain—even the Gamma (or P.1) variant is now down to just 1.3%—reflecting its highly contagious properties. If you missed it, I highly recommend checking out last week’s CDD rundown of key Delta facts and figures.

COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are taking a serious toll on under-vaccinated hotspots in the south. Seven states—Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi—make up about half of recent U.S. cases and hospitalizations, even though they reflect less than a quarter of the country’s total population, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said at a briefing on Thursday. Many hospitals in these states are turning away patients and canceling elective surgeries, as though we’re back in spring 2020.

Still, there’s some good news in this crisis. As we noted last week, vaccination numbers are rising again, with the states hardest hit by Delta leading the pack. In Florida, for example, average daily vaccinations are up from 40,000 on July 7 to 70,000 on August 7. CVS and Walgreens are reporting vaccination upticks as well. And, as of Friday, over half of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated.

Friday just in: +821K doses reported administered, including 565K newly vaccinated. 7-day average of newly vaccinated is up 11% from last week and 44% over past 2 weeks. 50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated. Keep going! 🇺🇸

— Dr. Cyrus Shahpar Archived (@cyrusshahpar46) August 6, 2021

According to new polling data from KFF’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, Delta is indeed a vaccination motivator. About one in five unvaccinated adults surveyed in KFF’s July poll said that COVID-19 variant news “has made them more likely to get vaccinated for COVID-19.” Still, many more people need convincing: the poll found that over half of vaccinated adults erroneously believe a COVID-19 vaccine poses a higher health risk than the virus itself.

It’s tragic that thousands more would need to die for many Americans to finally get their shots. But every vaccination may potentially be a life saved.

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In the past week (July 24 through 30), the U.S. reported about 466,000 new cases, according to the CDC. This amounts to:

• An average of 66,600 new cases each day
• 142 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
• 64% more new cases than last week (July 17-23)

Last week, America also saw:

• 38,300 new COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals (11.7 for every 100,000 people)
• 2,100 new COVID-19 deaths (0.6 for every 100,000 people)
• 82% of new cases now Delta-caused (as of July 17)
• An average of 660,000 vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)

Not only is the Delta variant driving a case rise, it’s driving an exponential case rise. This week, about 466,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported; that number is more than five times higher than what we saw during the week ending July 2.

Parts of the country with lower vaccination rates are more vulnerable to Delta, of course. Current hotspots include Louisiana, Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, all of which reported at least 300 new cases for every 100,000 people in the past week and all of which have under half of their populations fully vaccinated.

But Delta is now entirely dominant—causing at least 82% of cases in the country, per the most recent (yet two weeks old) CDC estimate—and every single state is seeing case surges right now. Hospitalizations are also up, 46% higher than last week, and deaths are up 33%. About 300 Americans are dying from COVID-19 every day—and almost all of those deaths are entirely preventable.

The CDC is now recommending that vaccinated people wear masks in indoor settings, if they live in high-transmission areas, have young children, or fit other criteria. While you can use the CDC’s county-level data to find your community’s COVID-19 status, it’s important to note that everyone’s risk levels are elevated right now.

Katherine J. Wu said it well in The Atlantic on Friday:

Some 70 percent of American counties are, according to the map, currently on fire; that percentage will probably tick up before it drops again. For now, I am tracking my pandemic circumstances. But my boundaries for my “community” are bigger than what the map says they are. They don’t stop at my county line, or my state line. They go as far as the virus treads—everywhere. Right now, I’m masking for as many people as I can.

All that said, there’s one silver lining to this new surge: vaccination numbers are ticking up again, with the highest daily rates now in states like Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri where the new COVID-19 wave is hitting the hardest. The vaccines are still our best protection against Delta and other variants; more on that later in the issue.