Deaths in the United States due to COVID-19 soared to the unwanted record high of more than 4,000 in a single day as the raging pandemic worsens throughout the country due to holiday travels.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there were 4,085 COVID-19 fatalities Thursday, the highest daily death toll so far, and the first time fatalities have crossed the 4,000 mark.
The U.S. also set a record seven-day average of 2,758 deaths by Friday, increasing 16% over the past week. This new toll brought the total number of fatalities since the pandemic began in January 2020 to 365,882 Americans. This horrific number is equivalent to 1 in every 905 Americans in the total population of 328 million persons.
New deaths are increasing rapidly, especially in Southern California. The state, the worst hit by the third wave of infections, is seeing health care workers rationing supplemental oxygen and asking ambulances to wait hours before offloading patients at hospitals.
Daily infections also show no signs of letting-up. The daily case count has exceeded 100,000 infections for the past two months and will worsen as casualties from the holiday travel season begin to pour into hospitals.
The U.S. reported more than 274,700 new cases Thursday. This brought the seven-day average to a new all-time high of 228,400, according to Johns Hopkins.
Over the past seven days, the U.S. reported 1.5 million new infections. This huge toll was equivalent to a daily average of 223,675, or three times the July peak, according to an ABC News analysis.
Daily new cases are still rising quickly and nearly everywhere. The average number of daily new cases has increased by at least 5% in 44 states and the District of Columbia. The spike in new cases is a clear sign more deaths will follow.
Alarmed health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warn the winter outbreak is likely to get worse before it gets better.
"We believe things will get worse as we get into January," said Fauci.
On the other hand, Fauci still believes Americans can still "blunt that acceleration" if they strictly adhere to public health measures like mask wearing and social distancing.
Also of grave concern is the laggard pace of vaccinations. More than 21.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed, but just 5.9 million have been administered since inoculations began in late December.
The U.S. administered more than 600,000 shots in 24 hours, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC said this number is the most in a one-day period so far.
Health experts say the U.S. needs to vaccinate some 1.5 million daily to attain its vaccination goals.
