U.S. Surpasses 40 Million Total COVID-19 Cases Amid Daily Infections Spike

The U.S. has now surpassed 40 million total cases of COVID-19.

The latest update to a running tally from NBC News shows the nation has now recorded 40,000,070 cases (as well as 651,690 deaths) since the start of the pandemic. CNN-cited data from Johns Hopkins University, meanwhile, shows that more than four million of the total recorded cases have occurred in the last four weeks.

Digging deeper into the latest data, as the team at USA Today pointed out on Monday, shows that new daily infections were more than four times what the U.S. reported on Labor Day in 2020. Still, the assessment from several health experts is that the current situation in the U.S. remains largely a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Those of us who are fully vaccinated, however, are still advised to employ social distancing and mask-wearing in many situations due to variant concerns.

As of Sept. 4, per data shared by the CDC, just 62.3 percent of the total U.S population had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Just 53 percent of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated.

In a recent White House statement, the Biden administration released a plan aimed at “transforming U.S. capabilities to prepare for and respond rapidly and effectively” to future pandemics and similar threats. Later this week, President Biden is—per a CNN source—expected to address the nation regarding the next phase of the pandemic response.