PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Daily COVID-19 statistics about case counts and hospitalizations has not been major news for some time now. It has been important for all of us to move past a constant focus on COVID-19. This is healthy and reduces anxiety.
Nevertheless, scientists continue to watch the numbers, and it can be helpful for anyone to take an occasional look.
The first thing to realize is the numbers are now just estimates. The combination of unreported home testing combined with people who may be ignoring symptoms and not testing leads to lower reported figures than what is really happening.
Statistics from Johns Hopkins University indicate we have about 2 million cases every 28 days, with about 400 deaths per day.
The good news is that the combination of vaccination and natural immunity is helping. The bad news is COVID-19 is still on a pace to kill about 135,000 people this year, making it the third-leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer.
KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.