The nation's seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases dipped below 40,000 this week, mirroring levels last seen in July 2021, CDC data shows.
As of March 9, the nation's seven-day case average was 37,147, a 28.8 percent decrease from the previous week's average, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published March 11.
Average COVID-19 case levels last dipped below the 40,000 mark on July 20, 2021, when the nation's seven-day average was 39,800.
Nine more findings:
Deaths
1. The current seven-day death average is 1,180, down 25 percent from the previous week's average. This marks the fifth consecutive week deaths have fallen. Some historical deaths have been excluded from these counts, the CDC said.
Hospitalizations
2. The seven-day hospitalization average for March 2-8 was 3,113, a 27.5 percent decrease from the previous week's average.
Vaccinations
3. As of March 9, about 254.3 million people — 76.6 percent of the total U.S. population — have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 216.4 million people, or 65.2 percent of the population, have received both doses.
4. About 95.5 million additional or booster doses in fully vaccinated people have been reported. Nearly 50 percent of people eligible for a booster dose have not yet gotten one, the CDC said.
5. The seven-day average number of vaccines administered daily was 302,787 as of March 9, an 11.9 percent decrease from the previous week.
Testing
6. The seven-day average for percent positivity from tests is 2.8 percent, down 1.1 percent from the previous week.
7. The nation's seven-day average test volume for the week of Feb. 25 to March 3 was 948,207, down 7 percent from the prior week's average.
Variants
8. Based on projections for the week ending March 5, the CDC estimated that the omicron variant accounts for 100 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
9. CDC estimates that BA.1.1 accounts for 73.7 percent of cases, while the BA.2 subvariant accounts for 11.6 percent of cases.