U.S. sees more deaths during Omicron wave than during Delta surge

While the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is considered by many as milder than the Delta variant, the U.S. has reported more deaths during the latest Omicron wave than in the previous Delta surge, U.S. media reported.

Since November 24 last year, when South Africa first reported the Omicron variant to the World Health Organization, the U.S. has confirmed more than 30,163,600 new infections and more than 154,750 deaths, according to the reports.

Although the U.S. identified its first Omicron infection on December 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since confirmed that the variant was in the country at least a week earlier.

In contrast, between August 1 and October 31, 2021, a similar duration covering the worst of the Delta surge in the U.S., the country confirmed 10,917,590 new infections and 132,616 deaths.

The death toll during the Omicron wave is about 17 percent higher than that in the equivalent-length Delta period.

The death toll underscored "the country's continuing vulnerability," the report by the Seattle Times wrote, adding that "when the number of infections is as astronomical as 30 million, even a tiny death rate will mean a catastrophic death count."

(CGTN)