Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US top infectious disease expert, said Sunday that the nation, which has so far reported the world’s worst overall COVID-19 death toll, has “no doubt” been undercounting fatal cases, according to Medical Xpress.
Public health officials have reported more than 581,000 deaths due to the deadly virus that causes COVID-19 infection. However, a study published by the researchers of the University of Washington estimated over 900,000 deaths.
Dr. Fauci, who is also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said. “That’s a bit more than I would have thought the undercounting was, but I think there’s no doubt… that we are and have been undercounting.”
The officials have reported more than 32.6 million confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
A spike in cases affected the nation but since January, new infections have come down as vaccination rates have increased.
Jeffery Zients, White House COVID-19 coordinator, told CNN, “We are turning the corner. We have 58% of adult Americans with at least one shot, over 110 million Americans fully vaccinated.”
President Joe Biden wants 70% of American adults to have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4 – the Independence Day holiday.
However, the rate peaked around April 10, which has been declining since then, with vaccine hold-outs slowing the race to population immunity, according to Medical Xpress.
Meanwhile, federal, state, and local officials have been teaming up with pharmacies, restaurants, breweries, supermarkets, and sports teams to encourage people to get their vaccines.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy launched a “Shot and a Beer” program to promote vaccination. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has recently announced that the state will “offer $100 savings bonds to residents aged 16 to 35 who get inoculated,” according to Medical Xpress.
