In the CNN Health, Christina Maxouris writes “December has been the nation’s deadliest month since the Covid-19 pandemic’s start — with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days. In comparison, the entire month of November saw about 36,964 deaths.”

Heath experts anticipate another surge stemming from Christmas travel and family gatherings during the New year holiday warning Americans that while the end is in sight (due to vaccination), the pandemic is not over yet.

Nearly 332,000 Americans have died of Covid-19. Another 193,000 could lose their lives over the next two months.

University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Talking to CNN about the projection, infectious disease specialist at the Baylor College of Medicine Dr. Peter Hotez said “The projections are just nightmarish. People can still save the lives of their loved ones by practicing that social distancing and masks. And remember, vaccines are around the corner.”

Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician told CNN “The individuals who are traveling, they probably are not going camping in the wilderness. Probably they are going to see loved ones and having dinner without wearing masks, crowded indoors for prolonged periods of time. There are many people who may have Covid-19 and not know it and then spread it to their loved ones, and then they’re going to go back to their home communities and then infect others unknowingly.”

Erin Bromage, an associate professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, told CNN:

“We’ve just seen these amplification events, and that’s what’s happened at the end of this year in the US. We had Thanksgiving, we had Labor Day, we had Halloween, and each one of these events brought lots of people together and just gave the virus more fuel to move through the population. Christmas is going to do a similar thing.”

MN Current COVID-19 Statistics

Minnesota also experienced a deadliest two-months (November, December) since the pandemic began. The current Minnesota COVID-19 statistics (as of Saturday Dec 26) as listed on MPR News is as follows:

• 5,107 deaths (57 reported Saturday)
• 406,545 positive cases (2,170 new reported Saturday), with 382,705 off isolation (94 percent)
• 5.4 million tests, 2.9 million people tested (about 51 percent of the population)
• 5.3 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning)

“For weeks, health experts and officials have urged Americans to be safe this holiday season, and that guidance extends to New Year’s Eve, with the CDC urging revelers to celebrate at home or virtually. If they host an in-person celebration, the agency suggests staying outside, limiting the numbers of guests, making extra masks available and keeping background music low to avoid shouting,” writes CNN.

• December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began — and projections for January are ‘nightmarish,’
• Health officials brace for a surge in US Covid-19 cases after the holidays
• December deadliest month of COVID-19 pandemic

“Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others” suggested the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1 in 1,000 Deaths From Covid-19

According to Dec 26 CNN’s Coronavirus update, 1 in 1,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Citing to Johns Hopkins database the update reports a total of 331,116 Americans have died from Covid-19 as of 3 p.m. ET Saturday, and the current US population is 330,753,142 thus making the deaths 1 in 1,000.

As a reminder, the first death from Covid-19 in US was recorded on Feb. 29 in Washington state, according to John Hopkins. The CNN update breaks-down the Covid-19 deaths as follows:

• The US reported 1,000 total deaths on March 24
• The US reported 10,000 total deaths on April 4
• Later that month, the US reported 50,000 total deaths on April 23
• 84 days after the first death, the US surpassed 100,000 deaths on May 23
• 121 days later, the US surpassed 200,000 deaths on Sept. 21
• 84 days later, the US surpassed 300,000 deaths on Dec. 14
• 11 days later, the US surpassed 330,747 total deaths on Dec. 26 – marking 1 in 1,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID vaccination tracker page (as of Dec 28, 9 a.m.) 11,445,175 doses have been distributed and 2,127,143 doses administered.