US COVID Deaths, Infections Are Falling

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Deaths from COVID-19 infections in the United States are dropping after a summer surge of the Delta variant.

Axios reported that COVID deaths are down about 13% over 2 weeks, with the virus claiming about 1,800 American lives daily.

Infections are also down, to about 102,000 per day, a 22% drop from 2 weeks ago, Axios said.

But the virus is still deadliest among older people. The  COVID death rate among Americans 75 and up was 2.09 per 100,000 as of Sept. 25, Fox News reported. For people 65 to 74, it was .97 per 100,000, and for people 50 to 64, it was .44 per 100,000.

The U.S. has had the most COVID cases and deaths of any nation: 44.1 million and 710,000, respectively. Brazil has had the second-most deaths, with nearly  600,000.

Though the Delta surge appears to be waning, the upcoming flu season poses a new health risk to the U.S., CDC Director Rochelle Walensky says.

“Last year, there were very few flu cases, largely because of masking and physical distancing and other prevention measures put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said at a White House news briefing Wednesday.

“With modest flu virus activity since March of 2020, CDC’s flu experts are concerned that reduced population-level immunity to the seasonal flu could place us at risk for a potentially severe flu season this year.”

The flu kills between 12,000 and 52,000 Americans yearly, she said.

Sources:

Axios: “COVID deaths are finally falling.”

Fox News: “US daily COVID-19 deaths decline 12% over 2 weeks.”

The White House: “Press Briefing by White House COVID-⁠19 Response Team and Public Health Officials,” Oct. 6, 2021.

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