Washington: The United States is reporting three times more cases of COVID-19 on an average than it did a year ago. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day average of daily new cases in the US was 1,37,270 as of Monday. At the same time last year, the country was averaging just over 39,000.
Labour Day weekend saw more than three times the number of new cases than in 2020 -- during a time when many thought the pandemic may be coming to a close, according to new data from the University. The surge in cases is blamed on the delta variant, which health officials say is more transmissible than other variants.
Currently, just 53 per cent of the Americans, including kids as young as 12 years, are fully vaccinated; just over 62 per cent have had at least one dose, indicating that new COVID-19 vaccine uptake is slowing.
The US is facing a different type of pandemic this wave. Now, people have the option to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccines were not available at this time last year. However widespread vaccinations have helped limit COVID-19 deaths. Despite seeing more than three times as many daily cases on Labour Day 2021 compared to last year, the US only sees about 1.8 times as many daily deaths.