(Reuters) – The United States reported a 22% decline in deaths from COVID-19 last week, while vaccinations accelerated to a record 2.4 million vaccines per day, according to a Reuters analysis of state data , municipal and CDC.
As of Sunday, 21% of the US population has received at least one dose of vaccine, up from 18% a week ago. About 11% received two doses, against 9%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(Open tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR in an external browser to see state-by-state details.)
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported each week has dropped for nine consecutive weeks, falling 10% to just under 378,000 in the seven days ending March 14. Deaths linked to COVID-19 fell to less than 10,000 last week, the lowest since mid-November.
However, health officials have warned Americans not to let their guard down, pointing to a resurgence of infections in several European countries after they relaxed social detachment measures.
“These should be warning signs for all of us. Cases (in the US) went up last spring, went up again in the summer, and will go up now if we stop taking precautions, ”said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Monday.
Air travel on Friday reached its highest level since the pandemic began, she said, when the warmer weather drove many people to go on spring break.
Nineteen of the 50 states reported more new infections last week compared to the previous seven days, up from 13 states the previous week, according to Reuters analysis. New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island had the highest rates of new infections per 100,000 residents.
The average number of COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals has dropped 13% to 38,000, the lowest since the end of October, according to a Reuters count.
Chris Canipe graphic, written by Lisa Shumaker, edited by Tiffany Wu