Coronavirus spread slows down

Weeks after the U.S. daily rate of new COVID-19 infections plummeted, hospitalizations and deaths have started to fall, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The data suggest a real decrease in the spread of the virus rather than a decline in testing. The United States logged just under 95,000 new cases on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins. While the country reported lower daily case counts over the summer, that is the biggest month-by-month decline so far. During the peak of infections a month ago on Jan. 10, there were more than 200,000 new cases per day. Many countries across the globe are also seeing a downward trend.

Is this a turning point? With millions of Americans carrying immunity after recovering from COVID-19 and the number with at least one dose of vaccine on the rise, experts hope public health officials can make real progress against the pandemic. But new variants of the virus continue to cause concern. While evidence suggests vaccines will work against mutated versions, the South African strain appears more resilient than earlier ones.

Dig deeper: Read Dr. Charles Horton’s report on whether the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin is effective against the coronavirus.