More than 100,000 people in the US have died due to the novel coronavirus since January 1, 2021, as the country is ramping up the rollout of a vaccine against the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Accounting for the largest number of Covid-19 fatalities in the world, the country’s death toll as of Sunday morning stood at 461,910, while the caseload increased to 26,908,962, Xinhua news agency.
An influential coronavirus model has predicted an estimated 631,000 Covid-19 deaths in the US by June 1.
According to the latest forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, the result depends on the vaccine rollout and the spread of variants.
A worst-case scenario could see the death toll go as high as 703,000.
Increasing mask use from current levels of 77 per cent to 95 per cent can save 44,000 lives by June 1, according to the model.
The national ensemble forecast of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that the number of newly reported Covid-19 deaths will likely decrease over the next four weeks, with 11,300 to 22,600 new deaths likely reported in the week ending February 27.
The national ensemble predicts that a total of 496,000 to 534,000 Covid-19 deaths will be reported by February 27.
Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining across the US, but health experts warn more contagious coronavirus strains may threaten to undo the progress and lead to a resurgence.
Currently the country averages more than 124,000 daily cases and over 3,200 single-day deaths, CDC data show.
President Joe Biden’s national vaccination campaign aims to administer 100 million doses of two-stage coronavirus vaccines in his first 100 days in office.
Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month. Over 59.3 million vaccine doses have been distributed across the US so far, but only about 39 million doses have been administered, CDC data show.