(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Unemployment claims down for most recent week, with 779,000 filed
There were 779,000 applications for unemployment filed in the week ending January 3, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Department of Labor. That number is better than expected and represents a decrease of 33,000 claims from the previous week’s level, which itself was revised down by 35,000 to 812,000 claims. This is the third consecutive week that claims have trended lower, but they still remain at a level not seen prior to the pandemic. Claims have generally mirrored the trajectory of the pandemic, such that an increase or decrease in COVID-19 cases has meant a rise or fall in unemployment claims.
The monthly jobs report for January will be released Friday, with the economy is expected to have added about 50,000 jobs. If so, that would be an improvement after the decline in employment seen in December, but still not nearly what is needed to restore the economy to pre-pandemic levels. According to today’s numbers, 17,835,525 people are currently claiming unemployment benefits through all government programs.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 104,484,972
Global deaths: 2,270,990. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 450,823.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 58,098,808
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 26,558,715 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 450,823. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 44,148.
U.S. total people tested: 313,620,645
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,368,281 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,390,350 cases. Texas is third, with 2,449,535 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
As of Wednesday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 55,943,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 33,878,254 doses have been administered, with 27,154,956 people receiving one or more doses, and 6,436,931 people receiving two doses. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, which are the two most prevalent in the U.S., each require two doses to be effective.
US surpasses 450,000 COVID-19 deaths; trend in fatalities heading downward
The United States late Wednesday surpassed 450,000 reported deaths from COVID-19. As of Thursday morning, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University put the total number of U.S. fatalities from the virus at 450,823. The threshold was crossed just seventeen days after the nation recorded 400,000 cumulative COVID-19 deaths since the first case was announced in the U.S. on January 20, 2020.
Data analyzed by the Covid Tracking Project most recently reports a seven-day average 3,039 deaths every day from COVID-19 in the U.S. The good news is that the trend has been heading downward for more than a week. Hospitalizations have also remained on a downward trend since early January, according to the Project. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently estimating between a total of 496,000 to 534,000 reported COVID-19 fatalities by the week ending February 27.
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