US records over 100,000 COVID-19 deaths in 2021 as vaccine rollout underway

WASHINGTON -- More than 100,000 people in the United States have died of COVID-19 since Jan 1 this year as the country are ramping up vaccine rollout, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU) data.

The United States has more COVID-19 deaths than any other country in the world. The country has recorded nearly 26.9 million cases with over 461,700 related deaths as of Saturday afternoon, according to the real-time count kept by JHU.

An influential coronavirus model has predicted an estimated 631,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States by June 1.

According to the latest forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, the result depends on the vaccine rollout and the spread of variants. A worst-case scenario could see the death toll go as high as 703,000.

Increasing mask use from current levels of 77 percent to 95 percent can save 44,000 lives by June 1, according to the model.

The national ensemble forecast of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that the number of newly reported COVID-19 deaths will likely decrease over the next 4 weeks, with 11,300 to 22,600 new deaths likely reported in the week ending Feb 27.

The national ensemble predicts that a total of 496,000 to 534,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported by Feb 27.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are declining from recent surges across the United States, but health experts warn more contagious coronavirus strains may threaten to undo progress and lead to a resurgence.

Currently the country averages over 124,000 daily cases and over 3,200 daily deaths, CDC data show.

US President Joe Biden's national vaccination campaign aims to administer 100 million doses of two-stage coronavirus vaccines in his first 100 days in office.

Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month.

Over 59.3 million vaccine doses have been distributed across the United States as of Friday, but only about 39 million doses have been administered, CDC data show.