The U.S. set a daily record for coronavirus deaths Wednesday for the second straight day, as the pandemic continues ravaging the country even amid the rollout of vaccines.
The 3,744 deaths Wednesday were up 19 from Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.
As of Thursday, the U.S. has approximately 19.8 million coronavirus cases and 344,000 related deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins tracker.
So far, more than 12.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been distributed throughout the U.S., with roughly 2.8 people receiving the first dose of the two-shot vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
That total is far short of the goal of 20 million vaccinations the U.S. had hoped to hit by year’s end.