The average daily death toll from COVID-19 fell nearly 20 percent in the United States over the past week, even as the average number of new cases and hospitalizations increased, officials said.
An average of 745 people died a day between March 30 and April 5, 19.7% less than the average of 928 people during the previous week, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Control Centers and Disease Prevention, at a White House press conference.
The decline in fatalities came as vaccination rates continued to rise nationwide, with about 3 million people receiving shots a day in the U.S., he said.
“I am encouraged by the declining death toll,” Walensky said. “While these vaccination rates are incredible and so encouraging for all of us, the trends are increasing in both the number of cases and in hospitalizations.”
According to CDC data, the average number of daily coronavirus cases grew 2.3 percent, from 62,058 to 63,479.
And the average number of daily hospitalizations also rose 2.7 percent, from 4,949 to 5,082 over the same time period.
Walensky attributed some of these cases to younger Americans, many of whom are among the last to be vaccinated.
“We are all over the country [virus] clusters associated with daycare and youth sports. Hospitals are seeing more and more young adults: those in their 30s and 40s are admitted with serious illnesses, “Walensky said.” We need to keep vaccinating as many Americans as we can. “
Recent data from Johns Hopkins University show that nearly half of the nation’s new COVID-19 cases are concentrated in five U.S. states, including New York, which had the most new infections nationwide last week. .
As of Wednesday, 76 percent of seniors and 80 percent of teachers or child care workers had received at least one vaccine, he said.
Overall, 32 percent of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one shot, according to the CDC’s data tracking website.
More than 556,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19.