More Americans have died from COVID-19 in 2021 than in 2020.
A week into October, the U.S. has recorded more than 353,000 Covid fatalities since the start of the year, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, in 2020, when the pandemic first began in late winter, about 352,000 deaths from the virus were reported.
A large number of the 2021 deaths this year occurred in January and February, when the U.S. was experiencing its third and deadliest wave.
It comes less than a week after the U.S. hit a grim milestone and surpassed 700,000 coronavirus deaths last Friday.
There have been more than 353,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded in the U.S. in 2021, surpassing the roughly 352,000 total figure recorded in 2021 (above)
January was the pandemic’s deadliest month, with 101,672 deaths recorded. February was the third deadliest month of the pandemic, with 55,654 deaths
January 2021 was the deadliest month of the pandemic so far, with 101,672 deaths being recorded, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It is the only month in which more than 100,000 Americans died from the virus, and accounts for nearly 30 percent of all deaths this year.
More than 55,000 deaths were recorded in February, the third-highest death total of any month.
Between December 2020 – the second-highest death total at 88,944 – January and February 2021, 246,270 deaths occurred in only three months, more than one-third of all deaths that have occurred from Covid since the pandemic began.
Deaths began to drop since then, however, with June and July each recording fewer than 10,000 Covid deaths.
The Delta variant, a highly contagious strain of the virus that originated in India, would then find its way to the nation over summer, causing a massive surge of cases and deaths.
In August 2021, 33,856 deaths from Covid were recorded, according to CDC data.
September was the deadliest U.S. month since February, with 49,343 deaths being recorded.
The difference between the late summer surges, compared to the deaths in January and February, is that the Covid vaccines are now widely available in the U.S. – otherwise many more deaths could have been reported.
While deaths fell for much of 2021, they spiked once again in August (33,856 deaths) and September (49,343). Unlike previous death surges, though, the late summer Covid surge took place while vaccines were widely available. Pictured: A nurse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, treats a patient on August 24
Two weeks ago, on September 23, around 2,000 deaths were being recorded nationwide every day. That figure has dropped by ten percent to around 1,800 deaths per day
Currently, 65.1 percent of Americans have received at least one shot of a vaccine, and 56.2 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are also available to Americans over the age of 65 or with severe comorbidities, and 6.76 million of the doses have been administered.
Almost all deaths being recorded in the nation at the moment are among unvaccinated people with the U.S. sitting on a stockpile of unused Covid vaccines.
Deaths are currently trending the right direction early in October, though.
Two weeks ago, on September 23, around 2,000 deaths were being recorded nationwide every day.
That figure has dropped by ten percent to around 1,800 deaths per day.
Deaths are a lagging indicator and often follow the same trend as cases, just three or four weeks later.
Over the past two weeks, new Covid cases have dropped by 20 percent from 127,000 new cases per day to 101,000 per day, signaling deaths will also continue to fall.
