US Averaging One COVID-Related Death Every Minute: CDC

Experts at the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday that the United States is currently averaging one death every minute of the day from coronavirus-related illnesses.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) held a meeting Tuesday to recommend how to roll out impending vaccines through a transparent, fair and effective process. Public health experts and doctors noted the increasing severity of the pandemic heading into the winter months ahead of several vaccines likely to become available in the coming weeks. Dr. Beth Bell told ACIP attendees the humbling statistic that one American is dying from a COVID-19 related ailment every minute of the day.

In addition to highlighting the minute-by-minute death toll data from its latest COVID-19 records, the CDC advisers said 69,000 deaths tied to coronavirus occurred in nursing homes as of November 15. The latest coronavirus pandemic death toll for the U.S. stands at 267,302, with 1,251 new deaths being reported in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday, December 1, 2020. Additionally, there are 13,447,627 total confirmed positive COVID-19 cases across the country.

Nursing home residents compose less than one percent of the population, but account for 40 percent of U.S. deaths from COVID-19. An additional 5,469 deaths occurred inside assisted living facilities by October 15.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.