Since the first death attributable to COVID-19 was reported in the United States on Feb. 29, 2020, an estimated 372,943 Americans have died — and that number continues to grow every day. Over the last seven-day period, an average of 3,362 Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 have died each day.<\/p>\n
Adjusting for population, no state has reported more coronavirus deaths than New Jersey. Since the pandemic began, New Jersey has reported a total of 20,161 deaths — or 226 for every 100,000 people. Per capita deaths attributable to the virus are also high in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and South Dakota. In each of these places, the death rate stands at at least 182 per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n
For context, the national COVID-19 death rate stands at 114 deaths for every 100,000 people.<\/p>\n
To date, Hawaii has reported the fewest coronavirus deaths on a per capita basis. There have been an estimated 22 COVID-19 deaths across the state for every 100,000 people since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n
Though the U.S. has one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world, Americans infected with the virus today appear more likely to survive than those who were infected earlier in the pandemic. Medical care providers now have months of experience treating COVID-19, and over that period have established more effective practices in treating the disease. According to one study conducted by researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine released in October, the chances of death among critically ill patients was 18 percentage points lower in August 2020 than it was in March.<\/p>\n
And now that inoculations against the coronavirus are underway in the United States, the spread of the disease will eventually slow, which will inevitably contribute to a reduction in deaths per capita.<\/p>\n
All COVID-19 data for states used in the story is current as of Jan. 13, 2021. Washington D.C. is current as of Jan. 12, 2021.<\/p>\n