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The month of October marked further signs of progress for the US as it tries to contain its most recent wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

National trends in infections, hospitalizations and deaths have declined, while vaccination rollouts have recently been given an extra boost with the launch of the Covid-19 booster vaccination program.

Two-thirds of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 58 percent have been fully vaccinated, according to data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine are the only states where more than 70 percent of their populations have been fully vaccinated, with 12 states yet to pass the 50 percent mark.

At the end of October, 47,103 people were being treated for Covid-19 in hospitals in the US, a decrease of nearly 26,000 patients since the level at the end of September, according to a Financial Times analysis of data released by the ministry on Monday. of Health and Human Services.

Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico and South Dakota are the only states where more patients were hospitalized at the end of October than in September.

CDC data shows that the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases hovers just below 70,000, down from the summer high of more than 161,000 per day.

That contrasts with late October last year, when the US averaged nearly 83,600 new infections per day and cases were in the midst of an upward trend heading into winter.

However, the number of deaths is higher than a year ago. By the end of October, the seven-day average of Covid-19 deaths in the US was about 1,100. That was an improvement from the high rates in the summer of more than 1,800 a day, but compared to the rates of 800 at the end of October last year.

Earlier on Monday, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed the number of confirmed Covid-19 victims worldwide was 5 million.