December 07, 2020
The United States and the European Union have comparable population sizes, but the trajectories of their COVID-19 outbreaks in recent months have been quite different. The US is experiencing a full-blown third wave of the pandemic, which health experts fear will get even worse after millions of Americans ignored CDC warnings to not visit their families for Thanksgiving. In Europe, strict restrictions have brought down the number of daily cases, but mortality rates are still rising and approaching those of the US. The current situation is a sharp contrast to the disparity seen over the summer, when the US suffered a second wave of cases in the Midwest and South while European countries seemed to have kept the coronavirus (mostly) in check due to stricter adherence to social distancing and mask-wearing. Here's a look at the seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases, and three-day rolling averages of new deaths and new deaths per capita in the EU vs the US since March.