The US Covid situation is as dire as ever, with 1,500 people dying each day -- an average of 150,000 new cases each day.

With more than 100,000 hospitalized Americans, the number of deaths -- almost certainly an undercount -- will continue to rise above the 653,000 current total. It seems sure to eclipse the death total from the 1918 influenza pandemic and is far greater than every US conflict except the Civil War.

President Joe Biden, outlining a new Covid strategy on Thursday, expressed near-anger at the unvaccinated. "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," he said, before laying out new mandates and requirements for US citizens to get the virus under control.