(CNN)The sad part about the thousands of Americans that will die in the coming weeks of the coronavirus pandemic is that they don't have to have to happen, according to one health expert.
"Every death that we're talking about this afternoon is preventable," Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN on Thursday. "None of this has to happen.
"We have the ability to stop these deaths, getting vaccines out, keeping masks on, social distancing. We just have to get everyone to hang in there a few more weeks."
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 328,000 people in the United States have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day average of deaths is rising in 22 states when compared with the prior seven-day average.
Experts fear holiday gatherings will bring another surge of cases, followed by another surge of hospitalizations, followed by another surge of deaths.
"We can still save lives," Hotez said. "No one has to lose their lives over the next few weeks and months. It's a tough message to get across, though."