The average daily COVID-19 mortality rate has dropped by nearly 20 percent in the U.S. over the past week – even as the average number of new cases and hospitalizations rose, officials said Wednesday.
An average of 745 people die per day between March 30 and April 5 – a decrease of 19.7 percent from an average of 928 people during the previous week, said dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a press release from the White House.
The decline in deaths occurred as vaccination rates continued across the country – with about 3 million people being shot in the U.S. every day, she said.
“I am encouraged by the decline in deaths,” 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 hospitalizations.”
According to CDC data, the average daily number of cases of coronavirus increased by 2.3 percent from 62,058 to 63,479 from last week to this week.
And the average number of daily hospitalizations also increased by 2.7 percent in the same period from 4949 to 5082.
Walensky attributed some of the cases to younger Americans, many of whom are last in line to be vaccinated.
‘Across the country we [virus] bunches associated with day care centers and youth sports. “Hospitals are seeing more and more younger adults – those in their thirties and forties who have been admitted with serious illnesses,” Walensky said. “We need to keep vaccinating as many Americans as we can.”
Recent data from Johns Hopkins University shows that almost half of the new COVID-19 cases are concentrated in the US states – including New York, which had the most new infections last week.
As of Wednesday, 76 percent of the elderly and 80 percent of the teachers or child care workers had received at least one vaccination shot, she said.
Overall, 32 percent of all adults in the U.S. received at least one shot, according to the CDC’s data tracking website.
More than 556,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19.