The pace of new COVID-19 infections continues to slow as the country begins to reach the end of the fourth wave of the pandemic.
On Sunday, the U.S. recorded 33,807 new cases of COVID-19 with a seven-day average of 144,316, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
This means that, although the overall number of cases has increased in the last month, the growth rate has fallen significantly to a minimum since early July.
New infections rose 10 percent from the average of 130,221 reported on Aug. 15, compared to the same time last month, when cases rose 322 percent over a four-week period.
A DailyMail.com analysis of the data shows that nearly half of U.S. states and the District of Columbia have seen covid infections decline or remain stable over the past two weeks.
Deaths currently rise to 279 fatalities recorded on Sunday with a seven-day average of 1,655, a jump of 156 from the average of 644 reported four weeks ago.
The rate has also increased and, at the same time last month, there was only a 98% increase in deaths from COVID-19 over a four-week period.
However, experts say fatalities are a lagging indicator and often do not begin to decline until two to three weeks after the cases.
It comes as cumulative vaccination rates continue to rise in many states with five countries: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont, revealing that they have vaccinated at least two-thirds of all residents.
On Sunday, the United States recorded 33,807 new cases of COVID-19 with a seven-day average of 144,316, 10% more than the average of 130,221 on August 15, a drop from the 322% growth rate on last month.
Deaths have risen, with 279 recorded on Sunday and a seven-day average of 1,655, up 156% from the 644 average reported four weeks ago, but deaths are a lagging indicator.
Nearly half of U.S. states and the District of Columbia have seen covid infections decrease or remain stable over the past two weeks.
Experts say the slowdown in the fourth wave, driven by an increase in the Delta variant, can be attributed to some factors.
One reason is that as more people have contracted COVID-19 over the past month, the virus has run out of people to become infected.
Another is that vaccination rates have risen, both for fear of Delta and for a growing number of mandates.
As of Monday, 27 states and the District of Columbia have completely vaccinated at least half of all residents, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Of these states, five have completely vaccinated two-thirds of their populations.
Currently, Vermont leads that the package has completely vaccinated 68.6% of its residents. Connecticut follows closely 67.1% and Maine (66.8%), Massachusetts (66.8%) and Rhode Island (66.1%) complete the top five.
All five also have among the lowest COVID-19 case rates in the country, and Connecticut has the lowest seven-day average of 106.5 cases per 100.00 people, according to CDC data.
But while the northeast is doing well, other states continue to fill hospital beds, especially with unvaccinated patients.
More than half of the states have completely vaccinated at least half of all residents and five states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont) have vaccinated two-thirds
Overall, hospitalizations have declined, with 96,870 Americans receiving hospital care for COVID-19, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Of these patients, just over a quarter – 24,946 – are in intensive care units (ICUs).
In West Virginia, there are currently a total of 810 patients hospitalized with the virus, as the state is approaching the highest total of 818 established in January 2021.
However, the state has set two more records as of Saturday, the most recent date for which data are available, with 254 patients in the ICU and 161 with ventilators.
West Virginia currently has the lowest vaccination rate in the country, with only 39.9% of residents fully vaccinated against Covid.
“When we started down this path with the Delta variant, I came to you and I told you that we really needed to get our legs together, because this thing could run all over our state,” Gov. Jim Justice said during a session of press friday.
“Well, I’m sure.”
According to Dr. Clay Marsh, Tsar COVID-19 of West Virginia, 85% of COVID-19 hospitalized patients have not been vaccinated.
This includes 90 percent of patients with ICU and between 91 and 93 percent of patients with ventilators.
“We have reached this level of hospital bed capacity, assumed by people infected with COVID-19, about 100 days faster than what we did during the last increase in December 2020,” Marsh said during the press conference.
In West Virginia, there are currently 810 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, an almost record level, and 254 patients in the ICU, the total one day higher since the pandemic began.
Idaho reports a record 613 patients hospitalized with the virus and 163 in the ICU, as hospitals say they are overwhelmed by the increase
Meanwhile, Idaho hospitals continue to be overwhelmed by a wave of COVID-19 patients.
Data from the state Department of Public Health show that a maximum of 613 residents receive hospital care for the virus.
Of these patients, 163 occupy ICU beds, only 10 less than the record 173 set on 31 August.
Similar to West Virginia, Idaho has one of the lowest rates of fully vaccinated residents, at 40.1 percent compared to the national average of 53.8 percent.
“It’s very difficult to be a front-line doctor, do it every day, and live in a state where the vaccination rate is so low,” said Dr. Meghan McInerney, ICU medical director at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. . , he told ABC News.
The hospital currently treats 45 COVID-19 patients, a dramatic increase from the five who only received care in the spring of 2021.
Doctors told the network that patients deny that they had COVID-19 even while they were dying.
Don’t tell me I have Covid. I don’t believe in Covid, “the patients told Dr. Carolyn McFarlane, a Saint Alphonsus hospitalist.
“There’s an almost contradictory tone when we ask,‘ Have you been vaccinated? “He told ABC News.
“It creates a rift in the tone of the room, because it’s a feeling of, ‘Well, you’ll treat me differently because I didn’t get vaccinated,’ and that’s far from the truth.”
