COVID-19 hospitalization rates in the United States continue to plummet downward as the vaccine rollout continues — a clear sign that the campaign is working.
Things have steadily improved across all age groups since a massive spike in new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths that began in November and persisted through much of January, according to the CDC's tracker. And while the pandemic is still far from over, the data offers a glimpse of hope that we might get to experience something resembling normal life in the medium-term future.
If all goes well and the numbers continue to drop at their current rate, the proportion of seniors ages 65 and up who are in the hospital for the coronavirus will drop to their lowest point since March 2020 within two weeks, Derek Thompson, a reporter at The Atlantic, noted on Twitter.
Hospitalization rates are really plummeting for seniors. Since early January peaks:
- age 65+: down 82%
- age 75-84: down 83%
- age 85+: down 85%https://t.co/iGCpq4OVfgAt current rate*, all groups will fall to a post-March 2020 low within the next two weeks. (*🤞) pic.twitter.com/sMDMxcAhHB
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) March 10, 2021
So far, 18.4 percent of the US population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with 93.7 million injections administered total, NPR reports. That sets the country on track to meet the Biden Administration's goal of vaccinating every adult in the US by the end of May.
For now, those injections seem to be doing a good job at preventing hospital stays, as reflected in the CDC data. There's always the possibility that at least one of the SARS-CoV-2 variants spreading throughout the world could throw a wrench into the vaccine rollout and cause a new spike in cases and hospitalizations. But that remains to be seen, and for now the downward trend in hospitalizations represents some much-needed good news.
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