Washington: The United States surpassed 350,000 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as vaccinations against the virus have begun at a slow pace.
According to the data, the US reported 2,398 new deaths during the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 350,186.
On Friday, the US surpassed a grim milestone of 20 million COVID-19 cases. Over the past week, there has been an average of 205,840 cases per day.
By far, the United States remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with the world’s most cases and deaths, making up more than 23 per cent of the global caseload.
CNN reported that over four million vaccine doses have been administered in the country, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As of 9 am on Saturday, the CDC COVID Data Tracker reported that 13,071,925 doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines had been distributed and 4,225,756 had been administered.
US COVID-19 cases reached 10 million on Nov. 9, and the number doubled in less than two months.
The United States repeatedly saw record numbers of cases, deaths as well as hospitalizations in the deadliest month of December in 2020.
With a toll of 3,750, U.S. daily COVID deaths shattered the record for a second straight day on Wednesday, the deadliest day the country has ever witnessed since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, current hospitalizations in the United States hit a record high of 125,379 on Thursday, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
Entering the New Year, the country will continue to fight the virus in the face of surging cases following gatherings and travel over the holidays, experts warned.
The current COVID-19 caseload of the US stands at 20,429,852.