This chart from the
NYT shows the COVID-19 pandemic is not going away soon. Hospitalizations and deaths are both rising:
About 100,000 cases are reported each day in the US, but many cases go unreported. The country has the highest number of deaths in the world, recently surpassing the 1 million mark--more than those who died in the great flu pandemic of 1918-20 when the world was without effective vaccines. At first New York City was hit hardest, accounting for 20% of the deaths in the first wave of infection although it accounts for only 3% of the population. The virus soon spread to the rest of the nation reaching its peak in the winter of 2020-21.
The US has been notable for the inability to convince its citizens to get vaccinated. About a third of the nation is unvaccinated and seventy percent have not received a booster shot. Compare that to Canada where only 17% of the population are unvaccinated and 46% have not had a booster dose. Half of COVID-19 deaths in the US occurred after vaccines were widely available. During the latest Omicron wave, the country lost more citizens to the disease at a rate higher than Germany, France, UK, or Canada. Just another example of American exceptionalism.
