Reply (Shutterstock) SONOMA VALLEY, CA — The U.S. has reached what health officials have called a "complicated stage" of the COVID-19 pandemic, with cases and hospitalizations increasing in some parts of the country despite the quickening pace of vaccination. Nationally, the seven-day average of new cases, which had fallen steadily from its peak of nearly 250,000 in January, is rising again, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Over the week ending April 14, new cases averaged 69,577 — 8.1 percent higher than during the previous week, when the seven-day average stood at 64,340. More than 31.2 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the pandemic began.