How Coronavirus Impacted The United States
Over the past year and a half, the United States has struggled to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Efforts to slow the outbreak have been severely undermined by distrust, misinformation, and partisan politics.
As a recovery seems to be taking effect, and vaccinations become more widely available, an analysis of the effects COVID-19 has had on the country seems appropriate. Based on data obtained from the Center for Disease Control, the following infographic was constructed to illuminate important figures. At 33,246,578 COVID cases and nearly 600,000 deaths, the United States leads in both cumulative cases and deaths, and isn’t far behind other smaller countries with population ratio taken into account.
While 172,423,605 have received their first dose a vaccine, just 42.6% of Americans are fully vaccinated. Cases have been decreasing as of late, however due to the large population of the United States, significant numbers of people are still testing positive, including almost 100,000 within the last week.
Demographics were also analyzed, and while the majority of deaths reported were White patients, it was found that patients of certain ethnic backgrounds had much higher death rates. Black patients were 1.9x more likely to die, as well as Latinos (2.3x) and Native Americans (2.4x).
Death rates increased exponentially with age. Using patients aged 5 to 17 as a reference, those 18–29 were 10x more likely to die, followed by 30–39 (45x), 40–49 (130x), 50–64 (440x), 65–74 (1,300x), 75–84 (3,200x), and 85+ (8,700x).
Testing, although not required, became largely accessible over time, and many tests have been administered. So far, over 450 million tests have been reported in the United States.
With the most case-heavy day taking place earlier this year on January 8th, and lesser-known variants finding their way into the country, Americans should remain cautious, and continue practicing safety protocols until COVID-19 has finally been eliminated from the United States. With this in mind, here’s hoping the U.S. and the rest of the world can unite to end the pandemic sooner rather than later.
