Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States (2021) facts for kids

This page shares important events about the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States during the year 2021. It was a time when the virus spread, new variants appeared, and vaccines became available to help protect people.

Cases

Deaths

Key Moments in 2021

January

January 1

• On January 1, the U.S. reached 20 million known cases of COVID-19. This number grew very quickly, adding 10 million cases in just 54 days.

January 4

• A new, more contagious type of the virus, called a variant, first found in the United Kingdom, was reported in New York. The person had not traveled to the UK.

January 5

• Another case of the UK variant was found in Georgia.
• The U.S. also passed 21 million cases, only four days after reaching 20 million.

January 6

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that at least 52 cases of the more contagious UK variant had been found across several states, including California and Florida. They warned that there could be many more cases.

January 7

• More states reported cases of the UK variant, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

January 9

• The U.S. reached 22 million cases.
• Five cases of the UK variant were reported in Minnesota.

January 11

• A case of the UK variant was found in Indiana.

January 12

• Two cases of the UK variant were reported in Maryland. One of the people had traveled to the United Kingdom.

January 13

• The U.S. passed 23 million cases, just four days after reaching 22 million.
• The UK variant was also found in New Mexico and Wisconsin.

January 15

• Three more states reported cases of the UK variant: Illinois, Oregon, and Utah.

January 19

• The U.S. reached 24 million cases.
• Sadly, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. passed 400,000.

January 21

• The government released a plan called the "National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness."

January 22

• The U.S. passed 25 million cases. This meant that about one in every 13 Americans had tested positive for COVID-19.

January 24

• The Capitol Police announced that 38 officers had tested positive for COVID-19 after an event at the United States Capitol on January 6.

January 25

• The U.S. reported its first case of a new variant from Brazil (called P.1) in Minnesota. The person had traveled recently.

January 28

• The first two cases of a new variant from South Africa (called B.1.351) were found in South Carolina. This variant was thought to possibly be harder for vaccines to fight.

February

February 1

• The U.S. passed 26 million cases.

February 7

• The U.S. passed 27 million cases.

February 20

• The U.S. passed 28 million cases.

February 22

• The number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. reached 500,000. This was only five weeks after reaching 400,000 deaths.

February 23

• More than 1,880 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant (from the UK) had been reported in 45 states.

March

March 2

• Texas and Mississippi announced they would fully reopen their states, meaning they would remove rules like mask mandates. They would still suggest safety measures.

March 5

• By this date, over 2,750 cases of different COVID-19 variants had been found across 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Most of these were the B.1.1.7 variant.

March 8

• The U.S. passed 29 million cases.

March 11

• President Joe Biden gave his first major speech as president. He announced a plan to make vaccines available to all adults by May 1, hoping that small gatherings could happen by July 4.

March 24

• The U.S. passed 30 million cases. Around this time, many states started allowing more people to get COVID-19 vaccines.

March 27

• More than 8,000 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant were reported across all 50 states and other areas.

April

April 1

• Over 11,000 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant were reported, with many in Florida and Michigan.

April 7

• The CDC announced that the B.1.1.7 variant had become the most common type of COVID-19 in the U.S.

April 9

• The U.S. passed 31 million cases.

April 12

• The U.S. reported its first six cases of a new "double mutant" variant from India (called B.1.617) in California.

April 22

• The U.S. passed 32 million cases.

April 29

• The CDC estimated that about 35% of the U.S. population had been infected with the virus by March 2021. This was much higher than the official reported numbers.

May

May 6

• A study estimated that the real number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. was over 900,000 people, much higher than officially reported.

May 13

• The CDC changed its advice, saying that people who were fully vaccinated usually did not need to wear masks in most places.

May 19

• The U.S. passed 33 million cases.

June

June 15

• The U.S. passed 600,000 deaths from COVID-19.

July

July 7

• The Delta variant became the most common type of COVID-19 in the U.S., taking over from the Alpha variant.

July 17

• The U.S. passed 34 million cases.

July 27

• The CDC updated its mask advice for fully vaccinated people. Because of new information about the Delta variant, they recommended that vaccinated people wear masks indoors again in areas where the virus was spreading a lot.

August

August 1

• The U.S. passed 35 million cases.

August 10

• The U.S. passed 36 million cases.

August 18

• The U.S. passed 37 million cases.

August 24

• The U.S. passed 38 million cases.

August 31

• The U.S. passed 39 million cases.

September

September 7

• The U.S. passed 40 million cases.

September 13

• The U.S. passed 41 million cases.

September 15

• By this date, one in every 500 Americans had died from COVID-19.

September 18

• The U.S. passed 42 million cases.

September 20

• COVID-19 had killed over 675,000 Americans. This was about the same number of American deaths as the Spanish flu in 1918. This made COVID-19 the deadliest respiratory pandemic in U.S. history.

September 27

• The U.S. passed 43 million cases.

October

October 1

• The U.S. passed 700,000 deaths.

October 7

• The U.S. passed 44 million cases.

October 18

• The U.S. passed 45 million cases.

November

November 1

• The U.S. passed 46 million cases.

November 13

• The U.S. passed 47 million cases.

November 25

• The U.S. passed 48 million cases.

November 26

• President Biden announced that the U.S. would limit travel from South Africa and seven other African countries. This was due to worries about a new variant called Omicron, which had been found there.

December

December 1

• The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant was found in the U.S.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Cronología de la pandemia de COVID-19 en los Estados Unidos de 2021 para niños