U.S. reaches record-breaking 1 million daily Covid-19 cases amid rising national vaccination rate, raising questions about the jab’s efficacy.
QUICK FACTS:
- The United States hit 1 million new Covid-19 cases on Monday, NBC News reports.
- The news org speculated the “record-breaking single-day total could be a reflection of delayed reporting as a number of states did not announce data on New Year’s Eve and during the holiday weekend.”
- The total upped the seven-day average of daily reported Covid-19 infections to 480,273, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, a level nearly double the peak reached at the height of last winter.
- Covid-19 hospitalizations reached a seven-day average of 97,855 on Monday, according to data posted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, WSJ also notes, adding, “That is up 41% in the past two weeks but below both the pandemic peak of 137,510 on Jan. 10, 2021, and the smaller peak of 102,967 on Sept. 4, 2021, during the Delta-variant surge.”
- The rise in Covid-19 cases in the U.S. raises questions about the vaccine’s effectiveness, especially because nearly 74% of the country’s population is vaccinated, according to Google data.
A GLOBAL RECORD:
- The U.S. set a global record when it recorded its 1 million new coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally.
- “The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has risen nearly 50% in the last week and now exceeds 100,000,” a Reuters analysis also showed, “the first time that threshold has been reached since the winter surge a year ago.”
- “Overall, the United States has seen a daily average of 486,000 cases over the last week, a rate that has doubled in seven days and far outstrips that of any other country. The 978,856 new infections on Monday includes some cases from Saturday and Sunday, when many states do not report,” Reuters reports.
BACKGROUND:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the omicron variant now accounts for up to 95 percent of U.S. test samples reviewed last week, according to modeled projections, NBC notes.
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed Sunday that he had become infected with virus and is experiencing symptoms, despite being fully vaccinated. “I tested positive this morning for COVID-19,” Austin said in a tweet on Sunday evening. “I requested the test today after exhibiting symptoms while at home on leave. My symptoms are mild, and I am following my physician’s directions.”
- News of the secretary’s illness came just days after he decided to fire dozens of American troops for refusing to take the jab, citing combat “readiness concerns.”
