US: 14 million Omicron cases in first 3 weeks of January

As expected — Omicron is so virulent; and testing is now so prevalent — than recorded cases already for Jan (to the 21st) are at a record. Over 14 million cases. Run rate for fatalities puts it about 50,000 deaths this month.

Even though the UK has definitely peaked on average daily cases — the total for the month will be a record — and fatalities will be the highest for 10 months.

The UK has definitely peaked for cases:

But the US has not and the fatality rate has risen sharply and is much higher (per capita) than the UK:

Tennessee

My home state Tennessee shows sharply rising cases, and very high level of fatalities

But NY has definitely peaked:

But not soon enough to avoid January being a record month for fatalities in the past 10+ months. Expect fatalities of about 5,000 by the end of the month — close to the same level from Jan 2021.

11 States now have average daily fatalities in excess of 10 people per million per day:

It’s still time to be cautious and avoid putting incremental pressure on hospitals. And of course — if you are not vaccinated or boosted — get it!

The overall higher fatality rate in the US versus the UK is most likely attributable to lower vaccination levels here in the US.

Originally published at http://jf-insights.com on January 24, 2022.