According to data collected and disseminated by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, COVID is still an ongoing problem in the U.S. but responsible for hospitalization and fatalities at a lower rate than at the beginning of the year.  Approximately two-thirds (66.5 percent) of the U.S. population has received two doses of an mRNA vaccine.  Of this number, half (46.4 percent) have received a booster dose. Notwithstanding uptake of vaccine, 109,740 new cases were recorded on March 19th with a seven-day average of 101,112 incident cases representing a 58.5 increase over the past two weeks.  The seven-day average fatality rate from (and with) COVID was 308, down 44 percent over the past two weeks. 

Total diagnosed deaths due to COVID attained 1,001,606 by May 19th but it is generally accepted that this number is an underestimate. Many cases during the first quarter of 2020 were either not recorded or documented as COVID.

The WHO estimates that total worldwide fatalities attributed to COVID have amounted to 6.3 million.  Out of a population of 7.9 billion worldwide, it may be assumed that five billion live in areas and nations with some form of health monitoring.  This would imply that among this population, the fatality rate was 13 per 100,000 a clear undercount.

Comparing the U.S. with Canada, 35,000 fatalities were attributed to COVID in our Northern neighbor since the beginning of the outbreak, among a population of 38 million. The U.S. has experienced 279 fatalities per 100,000 population compared to 94 per 100,000 in Canada.

Epidemiologists attribute the difference between the neighboring nations to the fact that by February 9th 2022, 80 percent of the population of Canada had received two doses of vaccine with an additional five percent receiving at least one dose.  Concurrently, 64 percent of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated and 12 percent had received only one dose.  A third of the U.S. fatalities occurred during the seven months following introduction of vaccine compared to 25 percent in Canada. Universal access to publicly funded health care in all thirteen provinces and territories of Canada is considered to be a major factor contributing to a lower fatality rate.

During the January 2022 Omicron surge, U.S. admission to ICU rose to 79 per million population compared to 32 per million in Canada.  This suggests a higher level of protection among the population and early clinical intervention, reducing the need for ICU care.