Despite the news headlines, the national 7-day average infection rate has slowed and nearly leveled off. That's an average across the country. That doesn't mean there aren't states where cases are continuing to grow rapidly. There are! But, on average things have stabilized. It also doesn't mean it will stay this way. I doubt it will. I suspect the new and upcoming states will start to take over and we will see the curve tick up again.
The death rates are continuing to grow, as expected. It is interesting to compare the current growth rate of deaths to that of the initial growth back in March. It's quite clear that the deaths are growing more slowly now. Why? There are lots of possibilities. Better treatments? Certainly. Different demographics of the afflicted? Seems likely. Mutation or dominance of a less aggressive virus? No strong evidence for this, but still possible. Change in how deaths are counted or attributed to COVID-19? To some degree, but it probably isn't a huge factor. Other possibilities? Almost certainly.
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