Forecast: US could see up to 845,000 deaths by early January
Forecast models used by the CDC suggest weekly death totals and hospital admissions will rise over the next four weeks.
The U.S. could reach a total of 845,000 deaths by Jan. 8, according to the forecasts from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/General/covid-deaths-united-states-01-gty-llr-211215_1639604602870_hpMain.jpg)
The COVID-19 Forecast Hub team monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers. They then create an ensemble, usually with a wide cone of uncertainty. Nicholas Reich, a biostatistician who runs the forecasting model, told ABC News Wednesday that he doesn't think the forecasts included omicron in their predictions because the majority of data isn't publicly available yet in a format that can be easily incorporated into a model.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos