
We can always use some good news.
Bridge Michigan reports:
Nearly four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the virus is killing far fewer people in Michigan — and isn’t spreading as swiftly in the winter as previous years.As of Dec. 17, the virus had caused about 1,400 deaths, less than half of last year and on par with the typical annual losses from flu and pneumonia, records show.
From 2020 to 2022, an average of 13,700 people died per year of COVID-19 in Michigan.
“The biggest danger is long past,” said Eric Pessell, health officer for Calhoun County, which has recorded 15 COVID-19 deaths this year, down from 40 in 2023 and far below the average of over 225 from 2020 to 2022. If the numbers hold, COVID-19 will likely be the No. 10 cause of death in Michigan in 2024, down from No. 3 in 2020 and 2021 when only heart disease and cancer claimed