Rare Good Covid News: Hospitalizations Drop For 10 Straight Days

Topline

Coronavirus hospitalizations in the U.S. have declined for 10 days in a row, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, in one of the longest stretches of sustained decline throughout the pandemic even as numbers continue to remain alarmingly high.

Key Facts

What To Watch For

President Joe Biden has warned “things are going to get worse before they get better,” as a much more contagious Covid strain, first discovered in the U.K., is now spreading around the United States.  

Big Number

19.8 million. That’s how many Covid vaccine shots have been administered in the U.S., according to a Bloomberg tracker. Vaccines have largely been prioritized for frontline essential workers and those with the highest risk of complications from a Covid infection.

Key Background

The U.S. appears to be coming off the peak of the third and most devastating Covid surge during the pandemic. New cases, hospitalizations and deaths had all quickly climbed from mid-October up until recently, with hospitalizations spiking from less than 30,000 in the fall to a peak of 132,474 on Jan. 6. The last time hospitalizations had declined for 10 days or more was a 12-day stretch from Aug. 6-Aug. 17.

Further Reading

Covid: Biden signs executive orders on food aid and worker protections (BBC News)

New Coronavirus Strain Is 56% More Infectious, Scientists Estimate (Forbes)

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