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America is picking up steam in the perilous fight against COVID as Thanksgiving is around the corner.
This year, the U.S. is in better form than the first time around, thanks to the advent of COVID-19 vaccines.
However, fears regarding the risk of regressing to the stage with virus outbreaks countrywide after this year's Thanksgiving remain.
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International travel has somehow returned to normal ever since the U.S. hit the 70 percent vaccination rate.
At this juncture, nearly 200 million Americans have been fully vaccinated. Nevertheless, tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans are still refusing to get a vaccine out of defiance.
Michigan hospitals reported about 3,800 COVID patients at the beginning of the week, with most of them unvaccinated. The state currently has one of the highest numbers of infections among other U.S. states.
Colder and even gelid weather makes for a breeding ground for the virus, which can account for upsurges in COVID cases reported in some regions experiencing the trials and tribulations of the pandemic.
Low vaccination rates in some parts of the country is also a major cause for alarm. In Detroit, less than 40 percent of its eligible residents were fully inoculated, sending hospitalisations ballooning since the start of November.
While the U.S. has yet to reach the tail end of this cataclysmic disaster, and virus hot spots notwithstanding, the outlook in the U.S., by and large, is significantly better than that at Thanksgiving last year, as the country is doubling down on efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
More than 2.2 million people passed through security checkpoints across the country last Friday, which is indicative of signs of the hustle and bustle returning.
Some 500,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since the last Thanksgiving, with an overall death toll of over 700,000.
In light of this, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called on the public to gather only after they've been fully vaccinated, or they'll run the risk of falling victim to the dreadful and deadly virus.
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