(This page is not specific to OC politics, but it's a handy place for me to put this).

The total US COVID-19 cases passed 19 million on December 27.

The population of the US at the start of 2020 was about 331,000,000. We have surpassed 331,000 deaths, which means that 1 out of every 1,000 people in the US has died of COVID-19.

Milestones#

99 days from 0 to 1 million cases 44 days from 1 to 2 million cases 37 days from 2 to 3 million cases 15 days from 3 to 4 million cases 16 days from 4 to 5 million cases 23 days from 5 to 6 million cases 20 days from 6 to 7 million cases 25 days from 7 to 8 million cases 14 days from 8 to 9 million cases 10 days from 9 to 10 million cases 6 days from 10 to 11 million cases 7 days from 11 to 12 million cases 5 days from 12 to 13 million cases 6 days from 13 to 14 million cases 5 days from 14 to 15 million cases 5 days from 15 to 16 million cases 4 days from 16 to 17 million cases 5 days from 17 to 18 million cases 6 days from 18 to 19 million cases

* Note that a mortality rate based on current cumulative cases would mean that it includes those who are still recovering and therefore their outcomes are yet to be determined. That calculation can be misleading. Given that warning label, the mortality rates at each milestone using that formula would be: 5.75%, 5.65%, 4.33%, 3.53%, 3.22%, 3.05%, 2.915%, 2.713%, 2.6%, 2.39%, 2.22%, 2.13%, 2.07%, 1.98%, 1.93%, 1.85%, 1.81%, 1.77%, 1.75%.

Comparison to 9/11 attacks During the September 11 attacks of the year 2001, 2,977 people were killed, 19 hijackers committed murder–suicide, and more than 6,000 others were injured. The immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes (including the terrorists), 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon.

Comparison to Influenza During the 2019-2020 influenza season, CDC estimates that influenza was associated with 38 million illnesses, 18 million medical visits, 405,000 hospitalizations, and 22,000 deaths. The influenza burden was higher in young children (0-4 years) and adults (18-49 years) compared with a recent season with the 2017-2018 season, a recent season with high severity, and provides evidence to support how severe seasonal influenza can be at any age. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2019-2020.html