1 in every 22 Americans has tested positive for coronavirus

Coronavirus testing.
(Image credit: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. is undoubtedly the world's coronavirus hotspot, and it's only getting worse.

As of Tuesday, the U.S. has seen more than 15 million people test positive for COVID-19. In other terms, one in every 22 Americans has tested positive for the virus, USA Today notes.

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The U.S. has also recorded more than 285,000 deaths from COVID-19 as of Tuesday, also representing the highest count in the world. That's close to a fifth of the world's 1.55 million coronavirus deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The United Kingdom started vaccinating residents on Tuesday, and the U.S. could be on track to begin doing so this week, if the Food and Drug Administration issues emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine candidates. Still, it is expected to take months before every American who wants a vaccine can get one.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.