US Covid-19 deaths are starting to decline in every part of the country

Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg

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Deaths from Covid-19 have begun to decline in every section of the US, the latest sign of relief as cases continue to decline and vaccination pressures accelerate.

The virus has been disappearing in the US for about three weeks, but reported deaths – the lagging indicator that is the ultimate measure of Covid’s impact – had remained near record levels.

Now, the seven-day average has shown signs of a spike in all four US Census Bureau regions, even in the lagging South. The declines will give states time as they try to get an unprecedented vaccination effort to inject most of the country’s 330 million people.

Covid-19 deaths

Seven-day mean of Covid-19 reported deaths

Source: The Covid Tracking Project at The Atlantic

Deaths reflect infections that occurred weeks and sometimes months ago, and it is unclear how much of the shift is due to vaccination pressure, which is less than a tenth of Americans. But by targeting shots first at the most vulnerable Americans, including those in nursing homes and people 65 and older, states hope re-appearances will be less deadly.

In the past week, according to the US, the US has administered about 1.35 million doses of Covid vaccines per day Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. In total, 31.8 million doses have been given in the country.

The US reported 116,999 new cases on Sunday, dropping the seven-day average to 151,487, the lowest since Nov. 14, according to Johns Hopkins University Data. More than 441,000 deaths had been reported early Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

According to data from the Covid Tracking Project:

• The number of people currently hospitalized with Covid-19 in the US has fallen to its lowest since Nov. 29.
• Arizona has the most people hospitalized with the virus per capita.