US weeks away from high rate of serious COVID-19 infections: vaccinologist

WASHINGTON - A top US vaccinologist warned on Thursday the United States is "weeks" away from such a high rate of serious COVID-19 infections that "every single American's going to know someone who's seriously ill."

"Because (the increasing COVID-19-related death rate) is being paralleled by a rise in hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and now the deaths are starting to arrive," Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College, told MSNBC.

Hotez gave the warning as the country registered over 1,400 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, the record nationwide single-day death toll since mid-May, according to The Hill.

The warning also came as the US administration and US President Donald Trump in particular continued to tout alleged progress in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak by citing a falling US mortality rate.

In a recent tweet, Trump even claimed that the United States has "the lowest" mortality rate for COVID-19 in the world.

However, according to CNN's fact-checking, among the 20 countries most affected by COVID-19, at least 14 have lower death rates than the United States.