Numbers Don’t Lie: No Progress Made In Containing Coronavirus In The U.S.

Nevin Barich

December 8, 2020 –

Nine months later and the United States has made no progress when it comes to containing the coronavirus pandemic.

There are differing views in this country when it comes to COVID-19. Many think it’s running rampant but can be controlled with better federal oversight. Others continue to think it’s all some kind of hoax. Some don’t think it’s a hoax but feel the concerns over the pandemic are overblown.

Me? I subscribe to the simple “numbers don’t lie” philosophy. And here are the numbers:

At the time of this writing, more than 14.4 million cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the U.S., nearly 285,000 deaths. For comparison, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), around 59,000 Americans die from influenza every year. The number of suicide deaths in the U.S. in 2018 was 48,000, according to the CDC. Around 58,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War. If the current rates of COVID-19 death continue, we will surpass the number of American casualties suffered during World War II (around 418,000) by early next year.

Numbers don’t lie. And the numbers tell us that the coronavirus is the worst killer of Americans in nearly 70 years.

And it’s not just the numbers. Recent news headlines from Industry Intelligence tell a similarly sober tale:

Washington state's coronavirus hospitalizations now exceed those seen in the spring, says top public health official; hospitalizations more than doubled in November statewide

California's Governor Newsom announces plans to impose stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns if ICU units in a given region become more than 85% full; no region has become strained yet

Pennsylvania breaks single-day record for new coronavirus cases with more than 11,000 new infections on Dec. 3, one week after Thanksgiving; state has had 50,000 new cases in the last seven days

COVID-19 pandemic could result in 450,000 deaths in the US by the end of February, CDC director says; virus has so far resulted in 272,133 deaths in the US

Indiana Hospital Association issues warning about COVID-19 trends across the state, notes hospitalizations from COVID-19 have increased 143% since Oct. 1; hospitalizations have surpassed 2,500 after hovering in triple digits for past five months

California hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients up 89% over past 14 days, with nearly 7,800 coronavirus patients now hospitalized; intensive care cases rose 67% in past two weeks, a trend that would push ICU beds to 112% of capacity by mid-December

Number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in US hits record 90,000, nearly doubling in the last month, with holidays expected to spur case surge; rate of hospitalizations--now at highest level since pandemic began--has pushed some hospitals beyond capacity

It’s been nine months since the pandemic began. Cases are rising. Hospitalizations are rising. Deaths are rising. Vaccinations are on the horizon, but details on how they’ll be administered on a mass scale—and how long that will take—are still being worked out.

Numbers don’t lie. But hopefully nine months from now, the numbers will say something more positive.

Nevin Barich is the Consumer Products Analyst for Industry Intelligence, which can help YOU better address your own industry challenges. To arm yourself with the latest market intelligence, contact ClientCare@IndustryIntel.com. Ask us about our interactive intelligence map and search bot on Microsoft Teams.

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