In May 2022, the Biden administration warned of a massive winter surge in COVID-19 cases. It predicted 100 million Americans could be infected with COVID-19. But the predictions were off. According to the CDC, a winter wave of COVID-19 infections didn’t materialize.
It was the first winter season of the COVID-19 pandemic without a large increase in the number of cases nationwide.
During the first winter wave in 2020-21, before vaccines, the highest number of weekly cases peaked at 1.7 million. The highest number of deaths recorded in a week was 23,000.
In the 2021-22 winter, when the U.S. was ravaged by omicron and its subvariants, cases per week peaked at 5.6 million and deaths per week peaked at 17,000.
In the 2022-23, case and death figures dipped significantly. The highest number of weekly infections came in below 500,000. Weekly deaths peaked at 4,400, five times fewer than the peak during the 2020-21 winter. Both cases and deaths are down to a fraction of totals from earlier winters of the pandemic.
Much has changed in the three years since the CDC declared a pandemic due to the spread of COVID-19. Vaccines are readily available and the U.S. population has built up more natural immunity against the virus. There are little to no lockdowns or COVID-19 mandates. And according to the Pew Research Center, Americans’ number one concern three years ago is now their last concern.
