The U.S. coronavirus death toll topped 250,000 on Wednesday, with nearly every state reporting an increase in new daily cases compared to this time last week.
In March, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, predicted that the coronavirus might kill up to 240,000 Americans. The deadliest day of the pandemic was April 15, with 2,752 deaths reported that day. Experts say that this winter, there could be 2,000 deaths reported a day, and "it all depends on what we do and how we address this outbreak," Dr. Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University told The New York Times. "That is going to determine how much it runs through us."
As of Wednesday, more than 11.5 million coronavirus cases have been reported in the United States, and on Tuesday, there were 76,830 Americans hospitalized with COVID-19. Shaman warns that while there is good news on the horizon regarding vaccines, the virus is still here, and the numbers will continue to go up as people gather for the holidays and tire of taking preventative measures. It's important that Americans wear masks and avoid crowds because "we have a lot of people who have not been infected with this yet," Shaman told the Times. "If you get complacent, the virus does not care. It is just going to come back."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocratFeature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlockFeature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
