Although the United States and the European Union have comparable population sizes, until recently the trajectories of their COVID-19 outbreaks have been vastly different. The US just surpassed nine million total infections as most states are fighting a third wave of the coronavirus. But now Europe is doing worse: the continent is fighting a full-blown "second wave" that has seen its latest average infection and mortality rates surpass those of the US, and led France, Germany and the UK to implement fresh national lockdowns. The current situation is a sharp contrast to the disparity seen over the summer, when US cases were spiking while Europe seemed to have kept the pandemic (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.
