There were over 3,900 COVID-19-related deaths for the week ending Jan. 11, marking the second-highest figure since April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Last week’s COVID-19 death toll was the highest since 3,947 died from COVID during the week ending Aug. 11, 2022.
Preliminary data from Johns Hopkins University indicates that COVID-19 was responsible for killing over 250,000 in 2022, which was down from 2021. Many of those deaths were reported in January and February when the U.S. was averaging over 2,000 virus-related deaths per day.
In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed COVID-19 as the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., with 350,000. In recent years, heart disease has claimed around 700,000 Americans, while cancer has killed about 600,000. The fourth-leading cause of death in 2021 was accidents causing unintentional injuries. Accidents claimed about 200,000 lives in 2021.
A preliminary report by Kaiser Family Foundationalso found COVID-19 would end up being the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2022.