COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
COVID-19 pandemic in AlabamaCOVID-19 pandemic in AlaskaCOVID-19 pandemic in ArizonaCOVID-19 pandemic in ArkansasCOVID-19 pandemic in CaliforniaCOVID-19 pandemic in ColoradoCOVID-19 pandemic in ConnecticutCOVID-19 pandemic in DelawareCOVID-19 pandemic in FloridaCOVID-19 pandemic in Georgia (U.S. state)COVID-19 pandemic in HawaiiCOVID-19 pandemic in IdahoCOVID-19 pandemic in IllinoisCOVID-19 pandemic in IndianaCOVID-19 pandemic in IowaCOVID-19 pandemic in KansasCOVID-19 pandemic in KentuckyCOVID-19 pandemic in LouisianaCOVID-19 pandemic in MaineCOVID-19 pandemic in MarylandCOVID-19 pandemic in MassachusettsCOVID-19 pandemic in MichiganCOVID-19 pandemic in MinnesotaCOVID-19 pandemic in MississippiCOVID-19 pandemic in MissouriCOVID-19 pandemic in MontanaCOVID-19 pandemic in NebraskaCOVID-19 pandemic in NevadaCOVID-19 pandemic in New HampshireCOVID-19 pandemic in New JerseyCOVID-19 pandemic in New MexicoCOVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)COVID-19 pandemic in North CarolinaCOVID-19 pandemic in North DakotaCOVID-19 pandemic in OhioCOVID-19 pandemic in OklahomaCOVID-19 pandemic in OregonCOVID-19 pandemic in PennsylvaniaCOVID-19 pandemic in Rhode IslandCOVID-19 pandemic in South CarolinaCOVID-19 pandemic in South DakotaCOVID-19 pandemic in TennesseeCOVID-19 pandemic in TexasCOVID-19 pandemic in UtahCOVID-19 pandemic in VermontCOVID-19 pandemic in VirginiaCOVID-19 pandemic in Washington (state)COVID-19 pandemic in West VirginiaCOVID-19 pandemic in WisconsinCOVID-19 pandemic in WyomingCOVID-19 pandemic in Puerto RicoCOVID-19 pandemic in American SamoaCOVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Mariana IslandsCOVID-19 pandemic in GuamCOVID-19 pandemic in United States Virgin Islands
COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people by state, as of July 11, 2022
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationUnited States
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China[1]
Arrival dateJanuary 13, 2020[2]
(4 years, 10 months, 1 week and 3 days ago)
Public health emergency: 31 January 2020 – 11 May 2023 (3 years, 3 months, 1 week and 4 days)
Confirmed cases103,436,829[3]
Suspected cases‡146,585,169 (CDC estimate in September 2021)[4]
Recovered
Deaths
Fatality rate1.17%
Vaccinations
  • 270,227,170[3] (79.1216%) (people with at least one dose)
  • 230,637,340[3] (67.52983%) (fully vaccinated people)
Government website
CDC
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.
Weekly confirmed COVID-19 deaths
Map of cumulative COVID-19 death rates by U.S. state[8]

On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20,[9] and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency on January 31.[10] Restrictions were placed on flights arriving from China,[11][12] but the initial U.S. response to the pandemic was otherwise slow in terms of preparing the healthcare system, stopping other travel, and testing.[13][14][15][a][17] The first known American deaths occurred in February[18] and in late February President Donald Trump proposed allocating $2.5 billion to fight the outbreak. Instead, Congress approved $8.3 billion with only Senator Rand Paul and two House representatives (Andy Biggs and Ken Buck) voting against, and Trump signed the bill, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, on March 6.[19] Trump declared a national emergency on March 13.[20] The government also purchased large quantities of medical equipment, invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to assist.[21] By mid-April, disaster declarations were made by all states and territories as they all had increasing cases. A second wave of infections began in June, following relaxed restrictions in several states, leading to daily cases surpassing 60,000. By mid-October, a third surge of cases began; there were over 200,000 new daily cases during parts of December 2020 and January 2021.[22][23]

COVID-19 vaccines became available in December 2020, under emergency use, beginning the national vaccination program, with the first vaccine officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 23, 2021.[24] Studies have shown them to be highly protective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. In comparison with fully vaccinated people, the CDC found that those who were unvaccinated were from 5 to nearly 30 times more likely to become either infected or hospitalized. There has nonetheless been some vaccine hesitancy for various reasons, although side effects are rare.[25][26] There were also numerous reports that unvaccinated COVID-19 patients strained the capacity of hospitals throughout the country, forcing many to turn away patients with life-threatening diseases.

A fourth rise in infections began in March 2021 amidst the rise of the Alpha variant, a more easily transmissible variant first detected in the United Kingdom. That was followed by a rise of the Delta variant, an even more infectious mutation first detected in India, leading to increased efforts to ensure safety. The January 2022 emergence of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered in South Africa, led to record highs in hospitalizations and cases in early 2022, with as many as 1.5 million new infections reported in a single day.[27] By the end of 2022, an estimated 77.5% of Americans had had COVID-19 at least once, according to the CDC.[28]

State and local responses to the pandemic during the public health emergency included the requirement to wear a face mask in specified situations (mask mandates), prohibition and cancellation of large-scale gatherings (including festivals and sporting events), stay-at-home orders, and school closures.[29] Disproportionate numbers of cases were observed among Black and Latino populations,[30][31][32] as well as elevated levels of vaccine hesitancy,[33][34] and there was a sharp increase in reported incidents of xenophobia and racism against Asian Americans.[35][36] Clusters of infections and deaths occurred in many areas.[b] The COVID-19 pandemic also saw the emergence of misinformation and conspiracy theories,[39] and highlighted weaknesses in the U.S. public health system.[17][40][41]

In the United States, there have been 103,436,829[3] confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,206,841[3] confirmed deaths, the most of any country, and the 17th highest per capita worldwide.[42] The COVID-19 pandemic ranks as the deadliest disaster in the country's history.[43] It was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer.[44] From 2019 to 2020, U.S. life expectancy dropped by three years for Hispanic and Latino Americans, 2.9 years for African Americans, and 1.2 years for white Americans.[45] In 2021, U.S. deaths due to COVID-19 rose,[46] and life expectancy fell.[47]

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  3. ^ a b c d e f Mathieu E, Ritchie H, Rodés-Guirao L, Appel C, Giattino C, Hasell J, et al. (2020–2024). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "Estimated COVID-19 Burden". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). July 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "U.S. recovered COVID-19 cases". Worldometer. Frequently updated.
  6. ^ "COVID Data Tracker". CDC. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  7. ^ "The pandemic's true death toll". The Economist. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original on February 8, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  8. ^ COVID-19 Deaths per 100K. U.S. News & World Report. Run your cursor over the map to see the dates and data for each state. "The data on this page is courtesy of USAFacts – a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic initiative – and includes information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local health departments. See a detailed methodology at the USAFacts website."
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  10. ^ "Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak". The White House. March 13, 2020.
  11. ^ Aubrey A (January 31, 2020). "Trump Declares Coronavirus A Public Health Emergency And Restricts Travel From China". NPR. Retrieved March 18, 2020. 'Foreign nationals other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have traveled in China in the last 14 days will be denied entry into United States,' Azar said.
  12. ^ Robertson L (April 15, 2020). "Trump's Snowballing China Travel Claim". FactCheck.org. Retrieved April 29, 2020. ... effective February 2.
  13. ^ Lemire J, Miller Z, Colvin J, Alonso-Zaldivar R (April 12, 2020). "Signs missed and steps slowed in Trump's pandemic response". Associated Press. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
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  17. ^ a b Banco E. "Inside America's Covid-reporting breakdown". Politico. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  18. ^ https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/22/840836618/1st-known-u-s-covid-19-death-was-on-feb-6-a-post-mortem-test-reveals [bare URL]
  19. ^ "Trump signs $8.3B bill to combat coronavirus outbreak in US". AP News. March 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "COVID-19 Emergency Declaration | FEMA.gov". www.fema.gov. March 14, 2020.
  21. ^ Watson K (March 27, 2020). "Trump invokes Defense Production Act to require GM to produce ventilators". CBS News. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  22. ^ "COVID-19 Cases Are Skyrocketing, But Deaths Are Flat – So Far. These 5 Charts Explain Why". Time. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "COVID Data Tracker". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). March 28, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  24. ^ FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). August 23, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  25. ^ "Fauci: Polio would still exist in US if 'false information' being spread now existed decades ago", ABC News, July 20, 2021
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  27. ^ Rattner N (January 11, 2022). "U.S. sets fresh records for Covid hospitalizations and cases with 1.5 million new infections". CNBC. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  28. ^ Vlachou M (July 4, 2023). "CDC Estimates How Many Americans Hadn't Had COVID By End Of 2022". HuffPost. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  29. ^ Deb S, Cacciola S, Stein M (March 11, 2020). "Sports Leagues Bar Fans and Cancel Games Amid Coronavirus Outbreak". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  30. ^ Godoy M (May 30, 2020). "What Do Coronavirus Racial Disparities Look Like State By State?". NPR.
  31. ^ Karson K, Scanlan Q (May 22, 2020). "Black Americans and Latinos nearly 3 times as likely to know someone who died of COVID-19: Poll". ABC News.
  32. ^ "States tracking COVID-19 race and ethnicity data". American Medical Association. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  33. ^ Beleche T, et al. (May 2021). "COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Demographic Factors, Geographic Patterns, and Changes Over Time" (PDF). Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, US HHS. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  34. ^ Livingston C (April 8, 2021). "Black Americans' Vaccine Hesitancy is Grounded in More Than Mistrust". Duke University. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  35. ^ "New report finds 169 percent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during the first quarter". NBC News. April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
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  37. ^ "COVID-19 Infections And Deaths Are Higher Among Those With Intellectual Disabilities". NPR.
  38. ^ "U.S. Navy Policies Battling COVID-19 Rely Heavily On Isolation". NPR.
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  43. ^ "COVID-19 surpasses 1918 flu as deadliest pandemic in U.S. history". National Geographic. September 21, 2021.
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  46. ^ Shapiro E, Pereira I, Deliso M (October 6, 2021). "COVID-19 live updates: More Americans died of COVID this year than all of 2020". ABC News. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  47. ^ Bernstein L (December 22, 2022). "U.S. life expectancy continued to fall in 2021 as covid, drug deaths surged". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 22, 2022.


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