The pandemic may have hit a peak, but upcoming colder months will be a test

• By Dana Farrington/NPR

One in every 500 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. Here are more sobering numbers from NPR health correspondent Rob Stein:

• About 150,000 people are still catching the virus every day
• More than 96,000 are hospitalized
• More than 1,800 are dying every day

“That’s still not nearly as bad as things got during the darkest days of last winter,” Stein tells Morning Edition, “But it’s still really awful. And no one thought the pandemic would still be taking this kind of toll, especially so many months after we all thought the vaccines would be like the cavalry riding to our rescue.”

But he says there is a glimmer of hope: “It actually looks like the surge may have hit a peak and could be starting to finally subside, at least for now. As bad as those numbers are, it looks like the rate of new infections may have plateaued over the last few weeks.”

Why is that? Stein says the spread has started to slow in the states with the lowest vaccination rates that have been hardest hit, particularly in the South. But doctors are keeping an eye on states up north now, as temperatures drop and people head back indoors.

But: “No one thinks things will get as bad as last winter. But just how bad depends on what people do,” Stein says. “Do enough people finally get vaccinated? Wear their masks enough? Stay away from crowds?”