(By ADAM GELLER Associated Press) – After a punishing fall that left hospitals struggling, some Midwestern states are seeing a decline in new coronavirus cases. But the signs of improvement are offset by the infection’s accelerating spread on both coasts. States including Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska have seen a decrease in the numbers of people testing positive for COVID-19.

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is drawn into a syringe, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, on the 12th floor of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP)

All, however, are still experiencing an alarming number of deaths and hospitalizations because of the earlier surge of cases.