Report: COVID-19 Deaths Decreasing As Vaccines Roll Out

COVID-19-related deaths have steadily decreased in recent weeks as testing and the number of vaccinations increase, according to a new report from Nephron Research.

COVID-19 cases have decreased 5% over the past week, with a 14% decrease in positivity levels. Testing increased by 10% from the previous week, which is notable compared to a 7% decrease observed earlier in February. The researchers noted that winter storms may have depressed testing levels in February.

With the drop in cases and rise in tests, the percentage of positive cases declined to 4.2%, making this the eighth consecutive week with a declining national positivity rate. The highest positivity rate saw 13.3% positive cases for the week ending on January 6. The investigators noted that the weekly positivity rate has now fallen to its lowest level since September.

Perhaps most notably, the United States saw 868 fewer deaths this week compared to last week, with 13,595 COVID-19 deaths. The summer peak was the last week of July, which saw 8018 deaths, whereas the spring peak in April saw 14,810 deaths. The all-time peak was the week ending on January 13, 2021, with 23,348 deaths in the United States.

Global deaths reached 2.56 million and the United States recorded the highest increase in deaths with 1.7 additional individuals dying from COVID-19. With that increase, daily deaths have now been greater than 1000 in 115 of the last 122 days, according to the report.

The United States has now administered the most first-shot vaccinations of any country, with 82.6 million. On a per capita basis, the report noted that the United States ranks 6, with 25% of the population receiving their first shot. The top 3 countries in per capita vaccinations are Israel (99%), Seychelles (82%), and the United Arab Emirates (63%).

Over the past 7 days, the United States has administered an average of 2.04 million vaccines per day. This is an increase of approximately 36% compared to the 7-day trailing average of approximately 1.51 million as of February 25. Average daily vaccine administration has now increased in each of the past 7 days.

On a state-by-state basis, the report said California, Texas, Florida, and New York have the most confirmed cases. As of March 4, California had 3.49 million cumulative cases, Texas had 2.67 million, and Florida had 1.89 million. Although New York has the fourth highest number of cases, the researchers noted that it is significantly less at 1.66 million—approximately 48% of California’s cases.

REFERENCE

COVID-19 Tracker March 5 2021: Weekly Data Review. Nephron Research; March 5, 2021. Accessed March 5, 2021.