Coronavirus watch: US deaths declining dramatically as vaccinations accelerate

Americans are now dying of COVID-19 at less than half the pace they were a month ago, a Paste BN analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

The 5,453 U.S. deaths from the disease in the week ending Monday is down from 12,263 who died in one week a month earlier – and down from 21,383 in one week just two months ago. 

Experts says the U.S. vaccination effort largely aimed at the most vulnerable people is helping curb fatalities. More than 3 million vaccination doses are being given on average each day, compared with less than 1 million in January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The news isn't all good – the United States continues to report high levels of cases. The 452,636 cases reported in the week ending Monday was up 20% from two weeks earlier.

It's Tuesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news you need to know:

• New York and Maryland on Tuesday joined the growing list of states allowing anyone over 16 to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations.
• New research suggests that protection from the Moderna vaccine lasts at least six months. The report Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine echoes what Pfizer said last week about its vaccine.
• Michigan officials say 246 people tested positive for the virus two weeks or more after becoming fully vaccinated – and three have died. Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for state health department, told Paste BN  that two of the three deaths occurred within three weeks of completing the vaccine and that all three were 65 or older.
• Disinfection to reduce transmission of COVID-19 at home is probably not needed unless someone in your home is sick or if someone who is positive for COVID-19 has been in your home within 24 hours, the CDC says in new guidance. Cleaning with a household cleaner that contains soap or detergent is sufficient.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 30 million COVID-19 cases and more than 555,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 132 million cases and more than 2.8 million deaths. More than 32% of Americans have received at least one vaccine shot, and 18% have received both doses, according to the CDC.

See the numbers in your area here, check out where cases are rising here, and see how many vaccines your state has received here.

– John Bacon, Paste BN rewrite chief, @realjohnbacon