COVID-19 Data Dispatch

Tag: February data

  • National numbers, Feb. 14

    National numbers, Feb. 14

    In the past week (February 7 through 13), the U.S. reported about 656,000 new cases, according to the COVID Tracking Project. This amounts to:

    • An average of 94,000 new cases each day
    • 200 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
    • 1 in 501 Americans getting diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past week

    The 7-day average for new cases was under 100,000 this week for the first time since October—but it’s still far above the records that America set during our spring and summer surges. 

    Nationwide COVID-19 metrics published in the COVID Tracking Project’s daily update on February 13. Cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are continuing to decline.

    Last week, America also saw:

    • 69,300 people now hospitalized with COVID-19 (21 for every 100,000 people)
    • 21,800 new COVID-19 deaths (6.6 for every 100,000 people)
    • An average of 1.64 million vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)

    This past week, fewer Americans died of COVID-19 than any previous week in 2021, according to the COVID Tracking Project. In White House briefings this week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that it will take a unified effort for us to continue this trend, especially as coronavirus variants pose an increased threat.

    Nearly 1,000 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant (which originated in the U.K.) have been reported in the US as of February 11. Though the U.S. has increased our genomic sequencing efforts by about tenfold in the past three weeks, this number is still likely a significant undercount.

    “We must continue to take action,” Dr. Walensky said on Wednesday—stressing the importance of wearing masks (yes, two masks at once!), physically distancing, and washing your hands.

    more national numbers
  • National numbers, Feb. 7

    National numbers, Feb. 7

    In the past week (February 1 through 6), the U.S. reported about 840,000 new cases, according to the COVID Tracking Project. This amounts to:

    • An average of 120,000 new cases each day
    • 257 total new cases for every 100,000 Americans
    • 1 in 389 Americans getting diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past week
    • 50% fewer new cases than we reported in the first full week of January
    Nationwide COVID-19 metrics published in the COVID Tracking Project’s daily update on February 6. The U.S. reported fewer than 1 million new cases for the first week since Thanksgiving.

    Last week, America also saw:

    • 84,200 people now hospitalized with COVID-19 (26 for every 100,000 people)
    • 22,500 new COVID-19 deaths (6.9 for every 100,000 people)
    • An average of 1.4 million vaccinations per day (per Bloomberg)

    This is the first week in which America has reported fewer than 1 million new COVID-19 cases since Thanksgiving. Also, per the COVID Tracking Project, the number of Americans in the hospital with COVID-19 has decreased for 25 days in a row. Bloomberg reported a record 2.1 million vaccine doses yesterday. Whichever metric you look at, the news is good.

    CDC Director Rochelle Walensky emphasized the declining rates in White House COVID-19 briefings this week. On Friday, for example, she noted that the number of new COVID-19 patients on February 2 was about 10,500—compared to the peak of 18,000 reported on January 5. Still, 10,000 new admissions was bad news when I reported this number at the end of November.

    But, as I keep stressing in these updates, we can’t get too excited about the good news. As of February 4, the U.S. is up to 611 cases of the B.1.1.7 (or UK) variant, 5 cases of the B.1.351 (or South Africa) variant, and 2 cases of the P.1 (or Brazil) variant—and these numbers are likely significant undercounts. For more information on these variants and how they impact vaccination, read Sarah Braner’s post later in the issue.

    more national numbers