Midwest Sees Biggest Jump in New COVID Infections As U.S. Cases Are Rising Once Again

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, where tens of millions of Americans are expected to travel all over the country as families gather together in homes for their annual feast, America’s Covid-19 infections are climbing again. Experts say new cases could soon hit a weekly average of 100,000 per day as daily case reports increase more than 20% across the upper midwest. The seven-day average for the US was 93,196 on Friday.

It had been 70,271 as recently as October 20th.

The winter months are hastening the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic as temperatures cool, forcing people indoors where the virus is spread more easily. Between the still-unvaccinated populations and the potential for breakthrough cases for the vaccinated, Americans can expect another holiday season beset by overcrowded emergency rooms and ICUs.

What have we learned about #COVID19 and antibiotics so far? What happens when antibiotics are not taken according to prescription or are used irrationally? When are antibiotics prescribed in the course of COVID-19 treatment? Dr @HananBalkhy explains in #ScienceIn5 this week ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/veULADETBo

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 21, 2021

With the Biden Administration and medical experts struggling to get adult vaccination rates above 60% nationally, the states first to experience the onset of winter, Michigan and Minnesota, currently lead the country “by a significant margin in recent cases per capita”, according to an analysis by the New York Times. One doctor in Minneapolis told CBS News, “I have never seen so many people on a ventilator at one time.”

62 million Americans eligible to be vaccinated still aren't. CDC says 85% of the counties in the US are in high transmission areas.

Is it too early to lift mask requirements? @ScottGottliebMD tells @margbrennan it's up to "local officials to base rules on local prevalence" pic.twitter.com/5WsLvapsw8

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 21, 2021

However, as federal medical workers travel to Minnesota to support hospital response to the increase in cases, the country as a whole is still averaging far fewer cases a day than it did during the worst of the summer’s Delta variant surge. People who are fully vaccinated are also far less likely to be hospitalized – and very unlikely to die – even if they are infected with the virus.

#Parents and caregivers: COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing severe illness and death from #COVID19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the best ways to slow the spread of COVID-19. Find a vaccine near you at https://t.co/2akIUZ14Rd. pic.twitter.com/zTJ0yT4Zgy

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— CDC (@CDCgov) November 21, 2021

The rise in new US infections comes as several European countries are reporting a brutal resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic. New infections are at record levels in some countries and Austria will reimpose a nationwide lockdown next week, while Germany is clamping down on unvaccinated people and has not ruled out imposing new restrictions on movement.

Many thanks ⁦@AnaCabrera⁩ for hosting me as I explain how another covid wave is upon us; we’ll soon exceed 100,000 cases/d. This new winter wave starting in Upper Midwest. Additional bad news is evidence for growing waning immunity from 2 doses of mRNA, but some good news.. pic.twitter.com/cPgLJzFJc9

— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) November 18, 2021

The number of US Covid-19 deaths recorded in 2021 has now surpassed the toll in 2020, according to federal data and Johns Hopkins University compiled Saturday and published in the Wall Street Journal. The total number of reported US deaths linked to the disease now surpasses 770,780: more than twice the 385,343 Covid-19 deaths recorded in 2020.