A projection estimates that at least 60,000 people will die in the United States from COVID-38 with the Omicron variant, a model that was cited by the White House.
However, there are other models that indicate that deaths could increase to 400,000 due to the number of infections and hospitalizations, especially of people who have not been vaccinated.
A report by The Associated Press indicates that despite signs that the Omicron variant causes a milder illness on average, the unprecedented level of infections in the US is an indication that more people in vulnerable conditions will be infected, leading to an increase in deaths.
Jason Salemi, epidemiologist at the University of South Florida , told the agency that the problem with the pandemic “is going to get worse before it gets better”, something that has even been mentioned by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s top adviser on the pandemic.
The report adds that although the number of deaths does not compare to the worst moments of the pandemic in 2020, the number of deceased people is affecting the morgues of small counties, such as Kansas .
The average number of new daily cases remains above 400,000, while deaths oscillate between 500 and 700 per day, with peaks of more of 1,500, as it happened on Tuesday, according to reports from Johns Hopkins University.
The AP report indicates that the wave of deaths “will reach its peak in late January or early February ”, quoting the expert Katriona Shea, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University, who performs several models on the pandemic.
In addition to deaths, 1.5 million people could be hospitalized. The extreme scenario of deaths is above 300,000.
Experts agree that vaccines have an important effect in preventing deaths and serious cases in hospitals.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate that only the 63% of the population is fully vaccinated, even though there are doses for everyone; while 38.7% have received their booster dose.