Pneumonia, Influenza, or COVID-19 Fatalities Continue Above Threshold

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) death certificate data available on December 10, 2020, the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza, or COVID-19 (PIC) for week #49 was 14.3% and, while it declined compared with the percentage during week #48 (19.6%), it remains above the epidemic threshold of 6.5%.

Additionally, the overall percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the USA, increased from 12.1% during week #48 to 13.3% during week #49, with positivity rates increased among all age groups.