The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States exceeds 800,000 or it will become the dominant strain in the United States

New York, December 14 (Xinhua) -- The latest statistics on the new crown epidemic released by Johns Hopkins University on the 14th show that as of 19:22 Eastern Time on the 14th (8:22 Beijing time on the 15th), the cumulative number of new crown deaths in the United States exceeded 800,000, reaching 800,280; the cumulative number of confirmed 50226706.

A temporary COVID-19 testing site photographed in Times Square, New York, USA, on Dec. 14. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Guo Ke)

At present, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States is still climbing rapidly. The data shows that the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States exceeded 500,000 on February 22 this year, more than 600,000 on June 15, and more than 700,000 on October 1 this year. From 500,000 to 600,000 cases in 113 days, from 600,000 to 700,000 cases in 108 days, from 700,000 to 800,000 cases in 74 days.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview with CNN on the 14th that from the doubling rate of the number of cases of the mutated new coronavirus Amy Kerong strain, the Omil jun strain will become the dominant strain in the United States.

Fauci said the Omiljung strain poses serious challenges because of its rapid spread rate and the fact that the existing two doses of the mRNA (Messenger Ribonucleic Acid) vaccine are not very effective in preventing infection with the Omiljun strain. However, if you inoculate the booster needle, the effect is better.

In South Africa, where the Aumechjong strain was first detected, Fauci said, although infections are rising almost vertically, there are not many severe hospitalizations. It is unclear whether this is due to the weakening of the virulence of the virus or to the fact that a significant proportion of the population has been infected and has acquired some immunity, which although it cannot prevent secondary infection, can prevent severe disease.

The 14th is the first anniversary of the launch of the new crown vaccination in the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, as of that day, more than 202 million people in the United States have completed COVID-19 vaccination, accounting for about 61% of the total population; about 55.1 million people have received booster injections, accounting for about 27.2% of the people who have completed COVID-19 vaccination. Fauci said vaccination in the U.S. has been on for a year, but there are still 60 million people who are eligible for vaccination who have not been vaccinated. If we want to see the outbreak end, we must do better.

According to the data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, as of the 14th, at least 35 states in the United States have reported cases of Infection with the Aomi kerong strain. At present, Delta strain is still the dominant strain in the United States. (Participating reporters: Zhang Mocheng, Tan Jingjing)