In US, more people succumbed to Omicron as compared to that of Delta variant, numbers show

In the United States, the Omicron variant death toll has eclipsed the number of lives claimed during the Delta wave of COVID-19, as per the reports of the New York Times. In 14 states of the country, which are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia; the daily death toll is currently higher than it was two weeks ago.

The United States has confirmed more than 30,163,600 new infections and more than 1,54,750 new deaths since the Omicron variant first came into existence on November 24 in South Africa. On the other hand, the United States verified 10,917,590 new infections and 1,32,616 new deaths from August 1 to October 31, a similar time period covering the worst of the Delta wave.

Mortality toll from Omicron surpasses that of Delta by around 17% in US

While America did not initially detect any Omicron cases within its borders until December 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently established that the variant was present in the country at least a week earlier, according to the New York Times. During the Omicron wave, the official case count was around 176% higher than during the equivalent-length Delta phase. So far, the mortality toll from the Omicron wave has surpassed that of the Delta wave by around 17%.

However, the death toll has decreased from last winter's peak, which occurred before the vaccinations were widely available. From November 24, 2020, to February 18, 2021, 2,33,102 deaths were reported, compared to 1,54,757 deaths from November 24, 2021, to February 18, 2022. But even after the vaccination, many people who are disabled or chronically ill are at high risk. Around 64.9% of Americans are fully vaccinated.

Governors revoke some elements of mask mandates

Meanwhile, Democratic governors in Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island, California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and Oregon recently revoked some elements of the mask mandates, according to the Guardian. Governor Gavin Newsom of California unveiled a proposal on Thursday based on the assumption that the virus is entering an endemic stage, rather than that of a pandemic. Endemic indicates that it is no longer a big concern in some locations.

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