"The bottom line: It is going to get worse." That's what Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a congressional hearing on March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared the novel COVID-19 virus a global pandemic.
A year ago, there were just over 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and 29 deaths. After travel bans, stay-at-home orders and other closures, those numbers stand at more than 28.9 million reported cases and more than 526,000 deaths today.
Globally, more than 118 million COVID-19 cases and more than 2.6 million deaths have been reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
During some of the worst periods of the pandemic, new daily cases surpassed 300,000 in the U.S. On March 10, 2021, 58,530 new cases were reported nationwide.
Hospitalization data has also been a key indicator for gauging how critical the situation was for both the public and healthcare workers. December and January saw the highest number of hospitalizations, at times surpassing more than 130,000 people. As of March 10, 43,151 people were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Now, as vaccination efforts continue to scale up in the U.S., health experts are optimistic that the end of the pandemic is in sight. As of March 10, 18.8 percent of the U.S. population had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 10 percent have been fully vaccinated.
Just before the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC released guidance for fully vaccinated people, which says they can safely gather with small groups from other households without masks or social distancing.
"This guidance represents a first step toward returning to everyday activities," the CDC said.
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