COVID-19 daily case rates plunge to one-fifth the record high reached a month ago. But thousands are still dying from COVID-19 every day

By Deidre McPhillips and Holly Yan, CNN

While new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations keep tumbling, more than 2,000 Americans are still dying every day from COVID-19.

The US is now averaging 151,056 new COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

That’s a 44% plunge from last week. New COVID-19 cases have plummeted to less than a fifth of the peak of more than 800,000 cases per day a month ago.

And for the first time since Christmas, the US had less than 200,000 new COVID-19 cases a day on Friday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also declining, with 82,842 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. That’s a 23% drop from last week.

But more than 2,000 Americans are still dying every day from COVID-19, according to JHU. Over the past week, an average of 2,306 Americans succumbed to the disease every day.

New COVID-19 deaths often happen weeks after infection, making deaths a lagging indicator.

While most Americans — 64% — have been fully vaccinated, only 28% have received a booster dose, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And the pace of new vaccinations and booster shots given have dropped to among the slowest they’ve ever been.

In December, the risk of testing positive for COVID-19 was five times higher for unvaccinated adults than it was for adults who were fully vaccinated and boosted, according to the CDC.

Over the past week, case rates were highest in Alaska, Kentucky, Mississippi and West Virginia — with each state reporting more than 100 new cases for every 100,000 residents each day.

The rates of new cases were lowest in Maryland, New Jersey, Kansas and New York — each reporting less than 25 new cases for every 100,000 residents each day.

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