U.S. COVID-19 death toll hits 700,000
Send a link to a friend
[October 02, 2021]
By Shaina Ahluwalia and Lasya Priya M
(Reuters) - The United States surpassed
700,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday, according to a Reuters
tally, as officials roll out booster doses of vaccines to protect the
elderly and people working in high-risk professions.
The country has reported an average of more than 2,000 deaths per day
over the past week, which represents about 60% of the peak in fatalities
in January, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed.
The United States still leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths,
accounting for 19% and 14% of all reported infections and fatalities,
according to Reuters tally. Globally, the pandemic is set to surpass 5
million deaths.
The highly transmissible Delta variant has driven a surge in COVID-19
cases that peaked around mid-September before falling to the current
level of about 117,625 cases per day, based on a seven-day rolling
average.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/02/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
That is still well above the 10,000 cases a day that top U.S. infectious
diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has said needs to be reached to end
the health crisis.
While national hospitalization numbers have fallen in recent weeks, some
states, particularly in the south of the country, are bucking that trend
to record big rises, putting pressure on healthcare systems.
VACCINE BOOSTERS
U.S. President Joe Biden received a booster shot on Monday, hoping to
provide an example for Americans on the need to get the extra shot even
as millions go without their first.
While scientists are divided over the need for booster shots when so
many people in the United States and other countries remain
unvaccinated, Biden announced the push in August as part of an effort to
shore up protection against the highly transmissible Delta variant.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/100221pics/news_a33.jpg)
Volunteer Sarah Wagner works on geolocating flags as part of Suzanne
Brennan Firstenberg's "In America: Remember", a memorial for
Americans who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the
national death toll nears 700,000, next to the Washington Monument
in Washington, U.S., October 1, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis
![](../images/ads/current/centraldirect_lda_SPONSOR_2021.png)
About 56% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, with
around 65% receiving at least one dose, according to the data from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York hospitals on Monday began firing or suspending healthcare
workers for defying a state order to be vaccinated, while a federal
judge ruled in favor of an Ohio private healthcare provider that had
mandated shots for its staff.
Vaccination rates in some parts of the Midwest and South are lagging
those in the Northeast and parts of the West Coast, according to the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicating a divide
between the rural and urban parts of the country.
(Reporting by Shaina Ahluwalia, Lasya Priya M and Roshan Abraham in
Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Wardell)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/02/images/ads/current/ccaonline_lda050208.png) |