As the winter season approaches, the United States is witnessing an increase in COVID-19 related deaths and hospitalizations. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eight states have reported a rise in COVID-19 fatalities. These states include Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maine, Colorado, and Maryland. Maryland has reported the highest jump in COVID-related deaths. The increases ranged from 0.1 to 3 percent.
Despite the rise in deaths, the percentage of deaths due to COVID-19 remained relatively low in the U.S., accounting for an average of 2.4 percent of all deaths in the week ending on November 11.
In addition to the rise in deaths, fourteen states, including Vermont, Iowa, and Alaska, are seeing a surge in hospitalizations. The CDC's Respiratory Disease Season Outlook projected the U.S. would likely see a similar amount of hospitalizations as it did last winter. Health officials attribute this spike to colder weather, which facilitates the spread of the virus.
However, the CDC's most recent forecast did not project a large wave of hospitalizations due to widespread population immunity from vaccinations and prior infections. The number of hospitalizations is lower than the peak seen in previous waves of the pandemic, indicating that the vaccination drive and previous exposure to the virus might be contributing to a level of immunity among the population.