COVID-19 has surpassed ischemic heart disease as the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, according to a new report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). An estimated 15% of the country has now been infected.
The country has seen nearly 15 million confirmed cases of COVID-19—and more than 284,000 deaths.
The IHME report emphasizes that vaccines will help the country begin to recover, but the situation is far from over.
“A further 14,000 lives can be saved with more rapid vaccine scale-up targeting high-risk individuals,” according to the report. “Avoiding even larger death tolls depends critically on state governors implementing packages of mandates as hospital stress becomes high. Scaling up mask use to 95% can save 66,000 lives by April 1.”
IHME also shared a few projections:
- By April 2021, the U.S. will see an estimated 539,000 deaths related to COVID-19.
- If 95% of Americans wore a mask as recommended, it could save up to 66,000 lives.
- From December to February, 48 states will experience “high or extreme stress” on ICU capacity.
The full report is available here. For more info from IHME, including reports focused on other parts of the world, click here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.