COVID-19 death rate points to ongoing US public health failure: Mercury News

NEW YORK - In the first five months of 2023, COVID-19 caused more than 37,000 deaths in the United States, and scientists estimate an annual US COVID death rate of at least 100,000, according to an opinion article published by The Mercury News last week.

The COVID-19 death rate points to a continued public health failure in the United States to take full advantage of the tools and to communicate the evolving risks in this phase of the pandemic, said the article.

The estimated annual COVID death rate of at least 100,000 dwarfs other infectious diseases in the country, according to the article.

The virus continues to evolve: the highly transmissible XBB.1.16 subvariant, currently making up about 15 percent of cases nationally, is expected to be the dominant strain by the summer. Wastewater surveillance is also showing an uptick in the virus in New York City and elsewhere, it noted.

"Meanwhile, the federal public health emergency ended last month, and across the country the pandemic has moved to back of mind. It's not surprising that the most vulnerable feel left behind," it said.

COVID-19 never treated all groups equally, and some older people and immunocompromised individuals still face the highest risk of serious illness, it added.