A month ago, the daily number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths reported was more than twice as high as it currently is, reports The COVID Tracking Project.
About 1,750 deaths were reported March 4 compared to about 3,600 deaths recorded Feb. 4, according to the Tracking Project.
Three more updates:
1. The White House will partner with health insurers to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are distributed to high-risk members, White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said March 3. The initiative will be led by America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The initiative aims to vaccinate 2 million Americans over the next 100 days. There are 13 insurers involved who will arrange vaccine sign-ups using state and local registries. Both members of private Medicare plans and low-income older adults who qualify for Medicare and Medicaid will be included in the effort, AHIP told Politico.
2. Countries' COVID-19 vaccination efforts are outpacing global syringe supplies, reports The New York Times. Experts say the world needs about 8 billion to 10 billion syringes for COVID-19 vaccinations. Syringe-makers are now ramping up production to try to meet this demand, according to the Times.
3. The Senate will meet today to debate President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill, reports The Washington Post. Senators will be able to propose amendments through a series of roll-call votes. Changes would need support from any group of 51 senators to be enacted.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in U.S.
Cases: 28,828,292
Deaths: 520,387
Americans receiving at least one vaccine dose: 54,035,670
Counts reflect March 4 and March 5 data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University and the CDC.