The coronavirus is retreating after a violent summer outbreak, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, according to scientists.
The number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States is now at 90,000 per day -- down more than 40% since August.
Hospitalizations and fatalities are also on the decline.
The health catastrophe has not ended in other parts of the U.S. Alaska's situation is particularly bad - but the national trend is apparent, and expectations are growing that the worst is gone.
The pandemic has swept throughout the country in waves over the last two years, inundating hospitals and then receding, only to resurface when Americans let their defenses down.
It's impossible to separate the reasons behind the virus's ebbs and flows, and even more difficult to anticipate the future.
However, as the cold season approaches, there are legitimate signs of hope. Nearly 70% of adults in the U.S. have received all of their vaccines, and many children under the age of 12 will be eligible for their vaccinations in a couple of weeks.
Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, director of Boston University's Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy and Research, stated, "We are clearly, hands-down, in a better spot this year than we were last year."
However, scientists warn that the pandemic is far from over. Every day, the virus is claiming the lives of about 2,000 Americans.
Scientists and medical experts argue that it is too soon to forgo basic measures given how many Americans are still unvaccinated and how much is unknown about COVID-19.
There was no COVID-19 vaccination available when the first surge of infections struck the U.S. early last year, and no one had the immunity to ward off the disease.
Individual behavior had to be changed if the proverbial curve was to be flattened.
According to scientists, strict measures like lockdowns, social distancing, hand-washing and the wearing of face covering most certainly helped bring the early surges to an end, not to mention the distribution of more vaccines.
"Then the restrictions would be eased, and perhaps memories would fade," Jennifer Nuzzo, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said.
The fact that case numbers are down does not imply that the country has achieved herd immunity, which many scientists now feel is still a long way down the road.
However, growing vaccination and infection rates, combined with more moderate behavioral changes, may have been enough to put an end to the surge.
"Delta is running out of individuals to infect," said Jeffrey Shaman, a Columbia University infectious disease public health specialist.
