#US COVID-19 cases, hospitalization, death rates rising

Average daily COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and death rates are on the rise in the US — just as federal officials paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The US recorded a seven-day daily average of 67,530 cases in the past week, up 6 percent from the previous week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.

The swelling number of infections comes after case averages hovered around 50,000 per day for much of March, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Hospital admissions are also climbing, with the seven-day average increasing by 6.8 percent from the previous week to around 5,400, the CDC said.

The US also saw a seven-day daily average death toll of 710 — up 7.1 percent, according to the CDC. The uptick comes after the average toll had been plummeting for weeks.

The troubling numbers come as vaccination efforts across the country have been gaining momentum in recent weeks.

For the seventh week in a row, vaccinations set a record, with an average last week of 3.1 million shots administered per day.

But the country’s vaccination program ran into obstacles this week when federal officials called for a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to six reports of blood clots in recipients.

It’s unclear whether vaccinations will lag this week as states work to cancel or reschedule appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Though the vaccine is only one of three on the market, health officials have insisted that the pause won’t interfere with the country’s vaccination goals for the month.

“We have more than enough Pfizer and Moderna vaccine supply to continue or even accelerate the current pace of vaccinations and meet the president’s goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office,” said Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to President Biden’s coronavirus response team.