超过100万美国人死于新冠肺炎但最近的数据显示,尽管感染人数激增,但死亡和严重疾病并没有以同样的势头增长。
美国上周报告了超过70万例新病例,但专家表示,随着各州关闭公共检测站,越来越多的美国人使用在家进行的新冠肺炎检测,总数可能大大低于统计数字。
目前在全国医院接受治疗的病毒阳性患者人数保持在3万人左右,平均每天有超过4200名病毒阳性美国人进入医院。
尽管需要住院治疗的人数在过去两个月翻了一番,但总数在最近几周趋于平稳,而不是像1月初那样大幅飙升,当时有超过16万名患者接受治疗。
因此,即使感染率激增,住院和死亡率没有大幅上升专家称这可能是由于新冠肺炎疫苗和加强注射减轻严重疾病的影响。
“在我们看到的最新感染增加中,值得注意的是,严重疾病特别是死亡已经持续了八周,”白宫新冠肺炎应对协调员Ashish Jha博士上月底告诉美联社。"新冠肺炎已经不再是一年前的杀手了。"
据报道,目前每天约有300例与新冠肺炎病毒相关的死亡,上周约有1800名美国人死于该病毒。
在东北地区,整个春天都经历了明显的病毒激增,但新冠肺炎死亡人数尚未随之增加。
即使在统计不足的情况下,死亡率目前也远远低于2021年1月的峰值水平,当时每天报告的死亡人数超过3,400人,或2月份omicron峰值期间,美国每天报告的死亡人数约为2,700人。
尽管ABC新闻对联邦数据的分析显示突破性感染和死亡有所增加,与接种疫苗和加强疫苗相比,未接种疫苗的人仍然存在更高的严重疾病风险。
根据疾病控制和预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)的数据,4月份,未接种疫苗的成年人死于新冠肺炎病毒的可能性是接种疫苗的人的六倍,5月份,检测呈阳性的可能性是接种疫苗的人的两倍。
同样,在50岁以上的美国人中,未接种疫苗的人的死亡风险是完全接种疫苗和双倍加强疫苗的人的42倍。
即使有令人鼓舞的消息,健康专家强调,每一个死亡仍然是一个悲剧,美国人必须继续考虑如何保护自己和最脆弱的人,因为他们学会了与病毒相处。
“我们不能让自己对这些数字变得麻木,”世界卫生组织总干事泰德罗斯·阿德汗诺·盖布雷耶苏斯上周说。“当我们拥有预防、检测和治疗这种疾病的工具时,新冠肺炎的死亡人数还没有达到可接受的水平。”
COVID-19-related deaths remain steady despite recent surge in infections
More than 1 million Americanshave died from COVID-19, but recent data shows that deaths and severe disease are not increasing with the same vigor despite a surge in infections.
The U.S. has reported more than 700,000 new cases in the last week, but experts say totals are likely significantly undercounted as states shutter public testing sites and more Americans use at-home COVID-19 tests.
The number of virus-positive patients currently receiving care in hospitals across the country remains around 30,000 Americans, and on average, more than 4,200 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day.
Although the number of people requiring hospitalization has doubled in the last two months, the total has plateaued in recent weeks, rather than surging significantly as they did in early January, when there were more than 160,000 patients receiving care.
Thus, even with infection rates surging, hospitalization anddeath rates have not seen a substantial increase, which experts say is likely the result ofCOVID-19 vaccines and booster shotsblunting the impact of severe disease.
“What has been remarkable in the latest increase in infections we’re seeing is how steady serious illness and particularly deaths are eight weeks into this,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, told The Associated Press late last month. “COVID-19 is no longer the killer that it was even a year ago.”
Approximately 300 COVID-19-related deaths are currently reported each day, and about 1,800 Americans have been reported lost to the virus in the last week.
In the Northeast, which experienced a significant viral surge throughout the spring, there has yet to be a subsequent increase in COVID-19 deaths.
Even with undercounting, death rates are currently nowhere near where they stood at their peak in January 2021, when there were more than 3,400 deaths reported each day, or during the omicron peak in February, when the U.S. was reporting about 2,700 deaths every day.
Althoughan ABC News analysis of federal data showsthat there has been an increase in breakthrough infections and deaths, the unvaccinated still remain at higher risk for severe disease compared to the vaccinated and boosted.
In April, unvaccinated adults were six times more likely to die of COVID-19 compared to vaccinated individuals and, in May, two times more likely to test positive, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Similarly, among Americans over the age of 50, the unvaccinated had a risk of dying that was 42 times higher than people who had been fully vaccinated and double boosted.
Even with encouraging news, health experts stressed that every death is still a tragedy, and Americans must continue to consider ways to protect themselves and the most vulnerable as they learn to live with the virus.
"We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these numbers," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week. "There is no acceptable level of deaths from COVID-19 when we have the tools to prevent, detect and treat this disease."