Johns Hopkins University reports that the U.S. surpassed 25 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, a figure that continues to dwarf the case totals of every other country around the world. But while case rates in the U.S. remain high, there does appear to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
The spread of the virus is on the decline after peaking earlier this month, and the number of Americans who have received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine should surpass the number of Americans infected by the end of the week.
By surpassing 25 million cases, the U.S. now has more than double the amount of recorded COVID-19 cases than any other country. India ranks second around the world with 10.6 million cases of COVID-19.
The U.S. also ranks first in the world with more than 419,000 COVID-19 deaths, nearly double that of Brazil, which has recorded more than 217,000 deaths.
However, the worst of the pandemic in the U.S. may be over for the time being.
The COVID Tracking project reports that over the last two weeks, there is only one state or territory in the entire union — Nebraska — that has recorded rising case rates. Cases remain consistent in three states, Washington, Iowa and New Hampshire, and American Samoa and are falling everywhere else.
The seven-day rolling average of new daily cases of COVID-19 has plummeted in recent days. While a still-high 167,000 Americans are being diagnosed with the virus every day, that figure stood at nearly 250,000 just two weeks ago.
Daily deaths linked to the virus remain elevated at more than 3,000 a day. Trends in COVID-19 deaths typically lag behind trends in case rates by about a week or two.
Bloomberg also reports encouraging news on the vaccine distribution front. According to the news organizations' vaccine tracker, the U.S. has distributed more than 22 million doses of vaccine since Dec. 14, meaning the number of vaccines distributed could surpass those infected in the coming days.
The U.S. is currently giving out 1.16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine each day — a number that officials hope to increase in the comings months.
