There are two immediate ways in which one might expect that question to be answered. The first is that, yes, an increase in cases necessarily means an increase in deaths, because any infection bears at least some risk of that outcome. But the second answer is that the number of deaths should be lower than in months past, since the vaccines have proved effective at muting the worst effects of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. But there is reason to worry that the latter answer includes some dangerous loopholes.

Source: Washington Post July 13, 2021 19:30 UTC