Welcome to The Data Point, a series from the NBC News Data Graphics team that explains a slice of the latest news through charts and visuals.
Omicron took a month and a half to match the death rate that the delta wave took nearly three months to reach.
The omicron variant, which has spread disease to tens of millions in the U.S. since late December, fueled a wave of Covid-related deaths that peaked at an average of about 2,700 deaths a day, and exceeded 2,000 deaths a day for more than four weeks.
During the delta variant peak, deaths averaged more than 2,000 a day for nearly two weeks. During omicron, average deaths exceeded 2,000 deaths a day for nearly five weeks.
The map and chart below show reported deaths and how that figure is changing. This data will be updated daily.
