In deadliest week so far, U.S. loses more than 18,400 lives to COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker checks on patients inside an oxygen tent outside the emergency room at the Community Hospital of Huntington Park during a surge in positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Huntington Park, California, U.S. December 29, 2020. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo

(Reuters) - December was the deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States with nearly 78,000 deaths, and health officials warned that even more people will likely die in January despite the rollout of vaccines.

In the week ended Jan. 3, more than 18,400 people died from COVID-19, bringing the pandemic's total to over 351,000 deaths, or one in every 930 U.S. residents, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.