The Final Pandemic Surge Is Crashing Over America
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here.
Understanding the pandemic this week requires grasping two thoughts at once. First, the United States has never been closer to defeating the pandemic. Second, some of the country’s most agonizing days still lie ahead.
Long term, the view has never looked brighter. This week, confirmation came that scientists have developed two vaccines against the coronavirus, each at least 90 percent effective, and more shots are likely on the way. Some health-care workers could be vaccinated by New Year’s. Most Americans can expect to receive a shot in the spring, according to Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious-disease expert.
Yet in the short term, the outlook is unavoidable: The country faces several weeks of mass suffering and death. Almost every major metric of the pandemic stands at or near record levels, according to data collected by the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.
More Americans are getting sick: The U.S. has recorded more than 1 million cases of COVID-19 in the past seven days, the highest level ever. More Americans are in need of urgent medical care: Nearly 80,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID-19 right now, smashing the old record of 59,924. And more Americans are dying: At least 8,461 people have died of COVID-19 since last
