While the rate of U.S. confirmed Covid cases per million people has increased over the past couple of weeks, from a low of around 160 on March 21 to a level of 200 or more, this occurred after a plunge in cases, from an early January high of 750. Similarly, the hospitalizations per million people, now somewhat above 100 in the U.S., is dramatically lower than its early-January peak of 400.
That the infections are now rising despite vaccinations attests to the danger posed by new variants, while the overall decrease reflects the powerful success of the vaccinations. Applied worldwide, vaccination is a powerful weapon against Covid-19.
As an example of a country that didn’t have the best public health response, but has had a high level of vaccination, the United Kingdom has dropped from nearly 900 cases per million inhabitants to 50, and the number of hospitalizations per million has fallen from 575 to below 60.
