Medical Express Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers report national estimates of 43.6 million COVID-19-associated illnesses and 101,300 deaths in the US during October 2022 to September 2023, plus 33.0 million illnesses and 100,800 deaths during October 2023 to September 2024. People 65 years and older accounted for the majority of hospitalizations and deaths.
COVID-19 has continued to affect the US health care system through outpatient visits, hospitalizations, and deaths long after the public health emergency declaration ended in May 2023. SARS-CoV-2 circulation has added pressure during winter respiratory illness seasons while other respiratory viruses continue to circulate.
Current estimates feed decisions on resource allocation and public health policy, but they cannot react to what they cannot see. Case reporting to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, removing a national stream of case-based data used earlier in the pandemic.