Isn’t this just exponential growth catching up to us? As long as the exponent > 1 the curve eventually gets “vertical.” It just takes longer. Discounting herd immunity, etc. which we’re clearly not at. (I am also interested in the data and don’t mean this as an argument.)

(Edit) An article positing some causes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/12/covid-socia...