In January, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the virus was the leading cause of death among Americans.
With more than 3,000 deaths per day, COVID-19 ranked higher than even heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death in the country.
However, just half a year later, COVID-19 has plummeted as a leading cause of death. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that the virus was just the seventh-leading cause of death in June.
In June, more people were killed by heart attacks, cancer, accidents, stroke, chronic respiratory disease and Alzheimer's than COVID-19.
COVID-19 killed an average of 342 Americans a day in June, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. By comparison, heart disease killed 2,101 people a day and cancer killed 1,614 a day.
The rolling average of daily COVID-19 deaths has consistently fallen since late January as vaccines became widely available. As of Friday, the CDC says seven-day average of daily deaths was at 287, the lowest that number has been since March 2020.
The drop in deaths mirrors the rise in the country's vaccination rate. As of Tuesday morning, the CDC reports that 67% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death among Americans, ranking only behind heart disease and cancer.
