Important update: Healthcare facilities
CDC has updated select ways to operate healthcare systems effectively in response to COVID-19 vaccination. Learn more
UPDATE
Given new evidence on the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, CDC has updated the guidance for fully vaccinated people. CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place.
UPDATE
The White House announced that vaccines will be required for international travelers coming into the United States, with an effective date of November 8, 2021. For purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines. More information is available here.
UPDATE
Travel requirements to enter the United States are changing, starting November 8, 2021. More information is available here.
Covid Tracker Weekly Review

Vigilance Matters When Viruses Vary

Vigilance Matters When Viruses Vary
Updated Apr. 9, 2021
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The United States is in the fourth week of an upward trend in COVID-19 cases. The lifting of social distancing and mask mandates in some areas could be contributing to this increase. This increase could also be due to the presence of more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which is why it is important to remain vigilant.

Viruses change constantly through mutation, so new variants are expected to occur as the virus spreads. Some variants pose a bigger threat than others. B.1.1.7 is the most common variant circulating in the United States and has been reported in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Understanding variants and their spread will help us contain the virus.

CDC recently introduced a classification system to rank the risk of the variants that we are monitoring, similar to the way the weather service ranks hurricanes. The classification system characterizes emerging variants based on their characteristics and the resulting actions and consequences for public health. CDC’s three classification categories include Variants of Interest (VOI), Variants of Concern (VOC) and Variants of High Consequence (VOHC). CDC is currently monitoring five variants of concern in the United States; none of the variants circulating in the United States are classified as variants of high consequence. Many of the variants circulating in the United States do not fall into one of these categories, but CDC continues to monitor them.

CDC Classification System to Rank the Risk of Variants
Variant of Interest Variant of Concern Variant of High Consequence*
Predicted to be more contagious Yes Yes Yes
Predicted to be more difficult to detect Yes Yes Yes
Evidence of more cases or unique clusters of outbreaks Yes Yes Yes
Evidence shows this variant might require alternative treatments and vaccines might be less effective No Yes Yes
Evidence shows this variant spreads more easily from person to person No Yes Yes
Evidence shows this variant causes more severe disease No Yes Yes
Requires notification to the World Health Organization and CDC No Yes Yes
Evidence shows significant diagnostic testing failures No No Yes
Evidence shows that vaccines are significantly less effective at preventing severe illness No No Yes
Treatment is significantly less effective No No Yes

Variants may have one or more of the listed attributes

*none at this time

The best way to slow the emergence of new variants is to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth, staying 6 feet away from people who don’t live with you, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces, and getting a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is available to you.

Reported Cases

Since March 20, 2021, the 7-day moving average of new cases has consistently remained higher compared with the previous 7-day moving average. The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (64,152) increased 2.0% compared with the previous 7-day moving average. However, the 7-day average decreased 74.3% compared with the highest peak on January 8, 2021 (249,697), and 4.7% compared with the second highest peak on July 23, 2020 (67,348). A total of 30,737,477 COVID-19 cases were reported as of April 7, 2021, including 74,860 new cases.

74,860
New Cases Reported

64,152
Current 7-Day Average*

30,737,477
Total Cases Reported

62,869
Prior 7-Day Average

249,697
Peak of 7-Day Average**

+2.0%
Change in 7-Day Average since Prior Week

*Historical cases are excluded from 7-day average calculations. Of 24,809 historical cases reported retroactively, 2,631 were reported in the current week, and 4,451 were reported in the prior week.

**Highest peak for 7-day average (January 8, 2021).

Note: The table above excludes historical data from the new cases, the current and previous 7-day averages, and the percent change in the 7-day average.

Daily Trends in COVID-19 Cases in the United States Reported to CDC

red line

7-Day moving average

Chart showing Daily Trends in COVID-19 Cases in the United States Reported to CDC

SARS-CoV-2 Variants

CDC recently updated the COVID Data Tracker to include the most recent proportions of SARS-CoV-2 variants nationally and in states where there is enough data for CDC to monitor variants. The Variant Surveillance section of the COVID Data Tracker provides an overview of published sequencing data and a global variant report map by country.

To provide a better picture of how widespread specific variants are in the US, CDC analyzes available genomic sequence data from specimens of SARS-CoV-2 collected from patients. This data is weighted to account for known differences in diagnostic testing and sequencing across time and geography. Based on the currently available data from early March, an estimated 27.2% of COVID-19 cases in the United States are caused by the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7. The proportion of cases caused by B.1.429 is estimated at 9.1% and the proportion of cases caused by B.1.427 is estimated at 4.3%. Variants P.1 and B.1.351 are both estimated to be 0.5% of the current COVID-19 cases.

CDC and partners are increasing the numbers of specimens sequenced in laboratories around the country. Studies are underway to determine whether variants are more transmissible, cause more severe illness, or are likely to evade immunity brought on by prior illness or vaccination.

Variant

Reported Cases in US

Number of Jurisdictions with ≥1 Case Reported

Variant

B.1.1.7

Reported Cases in US

19,554

Number of Jurisdictions with ≥1 Case Reported

52

Variant

B.1.351

Reported Cases in US

424

Number of Jurisdictions with ≥1 Case Reported

36

Variant

P.1

Reported Cases in US

434

Number of Jurisdictions with ≥1 Case Reported

28

SARS-CoV-2 Variants Circulating in the United States

Map of the United States showing Emerging Variant Cases of B.1.1.7 in the United States More Variants Data

Testing

The percentage of COVID-19 RT-PCR tests that are positive (percent positivity) has increased from the previous week. The 7-day average of percent positivity from tests is now 5.5%. The 7-day average test volume for March 26–April 1, 2021, was 1,172,235, down 2.2% from 1,198,428 for the prior 7 days.

384,580,206
Total Tests Reported

1,172,235
7-Day Average Test Volume

384,580,206
Total Tests Reported

5.5%
7-Day Average
% Positivity

1,172,235
7-Day Average Test Volume

+8.7%
Change in 7-Day
% Positivity

COVID-19 Viral (RT-PCR) Laboratory Test 7-day Percent Positivity by State/Territory

COVID-19 Viral (RT-PCR) Laboratory Test 7-day Percent Positivity by State/Territory

Vaccinations

The US COVID-19 Vaccination Program began December 14. As of April 8, 2021, 174.9 million vaccine doses have been administered. Overall, about 112.0 million people, or 33.7% of the US population, have received at least one dose of vaccine. About 66.2 million people, or 19.9% of the US population, have been fully vaccinated.* As of April 8, the 7-day average number of administered vaccine doses reported to CDC per day was 3.0 million, a 4.5% increase from the previous week.

The COVID Data Tracker Vaccination Demographic Trends tab shows vaccination trends by age group. As of April 8, 76.9% of people 65 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine; 58.4% are fully vaccinated. More than one-third (43.2%) of people 18 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine; 25.6% are fully vaccinated.

174,879,716
Vaccines Administered

112,046,611
People who received at least one dose

66,203,123
People who are fully vaccinated*

33.7%
Percentage of the US population that has received at least one dose

19.9%
Percentage of the US population that has been fully vaccinated*

+3.7
percentage point increase from last week

+3.0
percentage point increase from last week

*People who are fully vaccinated (formerly “receiving 2 doses”) represents the number of people who have received the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or one dose of the single-shot J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

Daily Change in Number of COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States Reported to CDC

red line

7-Day moving average

Chart showing Daily Change in Total Number of COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States Reported to CDC

New Hospital Admissions

Hospital admissions of patients with confirmed COVID-19 decreased by 67.7% from the national 7-day average peak of 16,521 admissions on January 9, 2021, to an average of  5,336 admissions over the 7-day period ending April 06, 2021. This however is a 7.3% increase from the previous 7-day period (March 24–30, 2021).

6,583
New Admissions

5,336
Current 7-Day Average

1,985,128
Total New Admissions

4,974
Prior 7-Day Average

16,521
Peak 7-Day Average*

+7.3%
Change in 7-Day Average

*Highest peak for 7-day average (January 9, 2021).

Daily Trends in Number of New COVID-19 Hospital Admissions in the United States

Chart showing New Admissions of Patients with Confirmed COVID-19

The most recent data in the vertical gray bar are provisional and should be interpreted with caution.

More Hospital Data

Trends in Hospitalizations by Age Group

Older adults are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness, including an increased risk for hospitalization. Since the start of the pandemic, adults aged 65 years and older were the age group with the highest rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalization. While rates of hospitalization have fallen for all age groups since the peak in early January 2021, the rates for these older adults have fallen the most. Rates of hospitalization in adults aged 65 years and older have decreased by more than 70% in the past two months, from 70.2 per 100,000 in early January to less than 20 per 100,000 in recent weeks. However, rates have plateaued or risen in recent weeks in all age groups.

Rates of COVID-19-Associated Hospitalizations

Rates of COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization by Race/Ethnicity

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) is an additional source for hospitalization data collected through a network of more than 250 acute-care hospitals in 14 states (representing ~10% of the U.S. population). Detailed data on patient demographics, including race/ethnicity, underlying medical conditions, medical interventions, and clinical outcomes, are collected using a standardized case reporting form.

More COVID-NET Data

Deaths

Overall, the 7-day moving average of daily new deaths has generally decreased for the past 12 weeks. On April 7, the 7-day average of daily new deaths (711) decreased 20.6% compared with the prior 7-day average; decreased 79.2% compared with the highest peak on January 13, 2021 (3,409); and decreased 38.2% compared with the peak on August 1, 2020 (1,151). As of April 7, 2021, a total of 556,106 COVID-19 deaths have been reported, including 871 new deaths.

871
New Deaths Reported

711
Current 7-Day Average*

556,106
Total Deaths Reported

895
Prior 7-Day Average

3,409
Peak of 7-day Average**

-20.6%
Change in the 7-Day Average Since the Prior Week

*Of 13,386 historical deaths reported retroactively, 153 were reported in the current week, and 286 were reported in the prior week.

** The highest peak in the 7-day average of new deaths (Jan 13, 2021).

Note: The table above excludes historical data from the new deaths, the current and previous 7-day averages, and the percent change in the 7-day average.

Daily Trends in Number of COVID-19 Deaths in the United States Reported to CDC

red line

7-Day moving average

Chart showing Daily Trends in Number of COVID-19 Deaths in the United States Reported to CDC
More Death Data

Recent COVID Data Tracker Updates