As president-elect Joe Biden is about to be inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, the COVID-19 pandemic remains on top of a pile of challenges facing the incoming administration. According to data tracked by the Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. will pass another grim milestone today, as the COVID-19 death toll is all but certain to pass 400,000 within the next 24 hours.
As the following chart illustrates, more people are currently dying of the disease than at any point since the pandemic hit in March 2020. While the seven-day average of daily deaths peaked around 2,200 during the first wave in April, it currently stands at 3,323 with the daily record of 4,462 deaths dating back to January 12.
This chart shows daily new reported deaths from COVID-19 in the United States.
