From a single known case in early March 2020 to over 100 million confirmed infections by June 2023, the trajectory of COVID-19 in the United States tells a story of devastating waves, heartbreaking loss, and the monumental race for mitigation, captured in the stark statistics of cases, deaths, and vaccinations that defined a nation's pandemic experience.
Key Takeaways
- Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States as of March 11, 2020: 1,480
- New COVID-19 cases reported in the US on April 1, 2020: 25,439
- Cumulative COVID-19 cases in California as of December 31, 2020: 2,439,289
- Total US COVID-19 deaths as of March 11, 2020: 38
- US deaths on April 1, 2020: 4,476 cumulative
- Cumulative deaths in California December 31, 2020: 26,933
- Total first doses administered in US as of March 11, 2020: 0 (pre-vaccine)
- First Pfizer doses December 14, 2020: 2.9 million in first week
- California fully vaccinated December 31, 2020: 1 million
- Total US hospitalizations cumulative as of March 2020: 4
- Hospitalizations April 2020 peak: 60,000 occupied beds
- California hospitalizations Dec 2020: 20,000
- Total tests conducted US March 2020: 10,000 daily average
- Daily tests April 2020: 150,000
- California tests Dec 2020: 200,000 daily
The blog post details the American COVID-19 pandemic's devastating scale across cases, deaths, and hospitalizations.
Cases
- Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States as of March 11, 2020: 1,480
- New COVID-19 cases reported in the US on April 1, 2020: 25,439
- Cumulative COVID-19 cases in California as of December 31, 2020: 2,439,289
- Total US COVID-19 cases surpassing 10 million on November 9, 2020: 10,016,766
- Daily new cases peak in US on January 8, 2021: 300,313
- Total cases in New York State as of May 1, 2021: 2,098,000
- US cases reaching 30 million on March 27, 2021: 30,000,000
- Weekly new cases average in US week of July 4, 2021: 23,000 per day
- Total cases in Texas as of September 1, 2021: 4,200,000
- US Delta variant cases estimated 99.9% by July 19, 2021: over 80% of cases
- Total US cases as of Omicron surge December 2021: 52 million
- Florida weekly cases July 2022: 700,000
- Total US cases end of 2022: 100,072,389
- Cases per 100k in US week of March 2023: 45.2
- Pediatric cases under 18 in US as of April 2023: 14 million
- Total cases in US as of June 1, 2023: 103,700,000
- Hispanic/Latino cases proportion in US: 19%
- Black/African American cases proportion: 13%
- Asian cases proportion in US: 6%
- Cases among adults 65+ : 30 million by 2022
- Long COVID cases estimated in US: 11 million adults by 2022
- Reinfection cases reported in US: 1.5 million by mid-2022
- Cases in prisons US total: 800,000 by 2022
- Teacher cases in US schools: 200,000 by 2022
- Cases among healthcare workers: 500,000 by 2021
- US cases with known symptoms: 80% fever or cough
- Asymptomatic cases proportion: 40%
- Hospital-onset cases in US: 10,000 monthly average 2021
- Community-onset cases: 90% of total
Cases Interpretation
The story told by these numbers is a grim comedy of errors, where a single spark in March exploded into a relentless, shape-shifting fire that burned through every community, leaving no age, race, or profession unscathed, and proving that our most shared American experience became the one we were least prepared to face together.
Deaths
- Total US COVID-19 deaths as of March 11, 2020: 38
- US deaths on April 1, 2020: 4,476 cumulative
- Cumulative deaths in California December 31, 2020: 26,933
- US deaths surpassing 250,000 on November 18, 2020: 250,000
- Daily death peak January 12, 2021: 4,396
- New York State deaths May 1, 2021: 53,000 cumulative
- US deaths reaching 550,000 on March 30, 2021: 550,000
- Excess deaths attributed to COVID-19 week July 2021: 5,000 weekly average
- Texas deaths September 1, 2021: 58,000
- Omicron wave deaths December 2021: 200,000 additional
- Florida deaths July 2022: 80,000 cumulative
- Total US deaths end 2022: 1,084,000
- Deaths per 100k March 2023: 0.3 weekly
- Pediatric deaths under 18 by April 2023: 1,700
- Total US deaths June 1, 2023: 1,110,000
- Hispanic/Latino death proportion: 24%
- Black/African American death proportion: 14%
- Asian death proportion: 4%
- Deaths among 65+: 75% of total (800,000 by 2022)
- Nursing home deaths: 180,000 by 2022
- Prison deaths: 3,000 by 2022
- Healthcare worker deaths: 3,600 by 2022
- Case-fatality rate peak early 2021: 2.1%
- Excess deaths total 2020-2022: 1.3 million
- Underreported deaths estimate: 20% higher
- Ventilator-associated deaths: 10% of ICU deaths
Deaths Interpretation
This tragic arc of numbers, from a deceptive trickle to a catastrophic flood, paints a stark and sobering portrait of a nation repeatedly underestimating a foe that carved its losses disproportionately along the fault lines of age, race, and vulnerability.
Hospitalizations
- Total US hospitalizations cumulative as of March 2020: 4
- Hospitalizations April 2020 peak: 60,000 occupied beds
- California hospitalizations Dec 2020: 20,000
- US hospitalizations surpassing 100,000 November 2020: 100,000
- Peak daily hospitalizations Jan 2021: 132,000
- New York hospitalizations May 2021: 2,000 current
- Delta wave hospitalizations July 2021: 25,000 weekly average
- Texas hospitalizations Sept 2021: 5,000 peak
- Omicron hospitalizations Dec 2021: 150,000 peak
- Florida hospitalizations July 2022: 5,000 current
- Total hospitalizations end 2022: 6.5 million cumulative
- Hospitalizations per 100k March 2023: 4.5
- Pediatric hospitalizations April 2023: 10,000 cumulative
- ICU bed occupancy peak 2021: 25% COVID
- Ventilator use peak: 20,000 patients
- 65+ hospitalizations proportion: 50%
- Unvaccinated hospitalizations: 75% of total 2022
- Rural hospital strain: 40% capacity average 2021
- Elective surgeries postponed: 500,000 due to COVID
- Average LOS for COVID patients: 8 days
- Readmission rate within 30 days: 10%
Hospitalizations Interpretation
The numbers tell a chilling, rollercoaster story: from a handful of beds in March 2020 to a harrowing peak of 150,000, the virus repeatedly stormed our hospitals, disproportionately filling them with the unvaccinated and elderly, while forcing half a million people to wait for surgeries and pushing rural facilities to their breaking point.
Testing
- Total tests conducted US March 2020: 10,000 daily average
- Daily tests April 2020: 150,000
- California tests Dec 2020: 200,000 daily
- Total tests US November 2020: 1 million daily average
- Positivity rate peak Jan 2021: 13%
- New York tests May 2021: 100,000 daily
- Tests per confirmed case ratio 2021: 3:1
- At-home tests sales 2021: 100 million kits
- Texas tests Sept 2021: 80,000 daily
- Omicron testing surge Dec 2021: 2.5 million daily
- Florida tests July 2022: 50,000 daily
- Total tests end 2022: 1.1 billion
- Positivity rate March 2023: 3.5%
- Wastewater surveillance sites: 1,000 by 2023
- Antigen test accuracy: 80% sensitivity
- PCR tests proportion: 70% of total
- Testing in schools: 10 million by 2022
- Border testing travelers: 5 million by 2022
- False positive rate: 0.8% PCR
- Testing equity urban vs rural: 2:1 ratio
- Serology tests conducted: 20 million by 2022
Testing Interpretation
America’s testing journey, from scrambling for a mere 10,000 daily exams in March 2020 to ultimately conducting over a billion, reflects a nation that finally learned to track the virus with the same relentless enthusiasm it once reserved for tracking weekend brunch reservations.
Vaccinations
- Total first doses administered in US as of March 11, 2020: 0 (pre-vaccine)
- First Pfizer doses December 14, 2020: 2.9 million in first week
- California fully vaccinated December 31, 2020: 1 million
- Total vaccine doses administered November 2020: 20 million by Nov 25
- Daily vaccinations peak January 2021: 3 million per day
- New York fully vaccinated May 1, 2021: 8 million
- US adults fully vaccinated March 2021: 20%
- Booster doses July 2021: 40 million
- Texas vaccinations September 1, 2021: 14 million fully
- Pediatric vaccinations (5+) December 2021: 5 million
- Florida fully vaccinated July 2022: 12 million
- Total US doses end 2022: 675 million
- Bivalent booster uptake March 2023: 20 million
- Vaccinations among 65+: 95% at least one dose by 2023
- Total fully vaccinated June 2023: 230 million
- Vaccine hesitancy rate: 30% unvaccinated adults 2022
- Black vaccination rate: 75% fully by 2023
- Hispanic vaccination rate: 80%
- Rural vaccination coverage: 65%
- VAERS reports post-vaccination: 1.5 million by 2023
- Breakthrough cases prevented: 18 million by 2022
- mRNA vaccine doses: 90% of total
- J&J doses administered: 18 million
- Pediatric 6 months+ doses: 2 million by 2023
- Hospitalized unvaccinated proportion: 90% in 2022
Vaccinations Interpretation
From a standing start, we ran a medical moonshot so successful it’s a statistical tragedy that a stubborn third of adults watched nine out of ten unvaccinated people fill hospitals and still decided to sit out the race.
Sources & References
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