As hospitalizations and new cases start to level off or decline, the U.S. is still recording an average of more than 2,000 newly reported COVID-19 deaths a day, the most since February.
Seven other things to know:
Cases
1. Nationwide, Alaska has the highest rate of new daily COVID-19 infections per capita, according to data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University. As of Sept. 23, 169.18 cases are being reported per 100,000 Alaska residents. The outbreak is statewide, with high infection rates around Anchorage and Juneau, as well as in remote areas, according to The New York Times.
2. COVID-19 case rates are rising in areas of the Upper Midwest. In Wisconsin, reports of new infections are up more than 80 percent over the last two weeks, with some rural counties seeing higher rates than any recent state rate.
3. The U.S. reported 243,373 new COVID-19 cases among children in the week ending Sept. 16, the third highest weekly tally since the pandemic started, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
Hospitalizations
4. New daily COVID-19 hospitalization rates in the U.S. have decreased 10 percent over the last two weeks, though 23 states and the District of Columbia are still seeing hospitalization rates trend upward, according to HHS data cited by the Times.
5. Despite the national drop in hospitalization rates, many states are struggling with a high influx of COVID-19 patients. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare activated crisis standards of care Sept. 16 for all hospitals and health systems across the state. On the same day, a Montana hospital also enacted crisis standards of care as the critical care units and morgue hit 100 percent capacity. On Sept. 22, Alaska implemented crisis standards of care for hospitals statewide.
Deaths
On Sept. 20, the U.S. recorded more than 675,000 COVID-19 deaths, surpassing the number of deaths during the 1918 Spanish flu.
Vaccinations
Vaccination pace has held steady over the last few weeks, remaining around 760,000 doses per day. About two-thirds (64 percent) of American adults are fully vaccinated as of Sept. 22, though rates vary widely across the nation.