Tuesday marked a major milestone in the United States’ pandemic efforts: 800,000 people have died from COVID-19 since last year’s pandemic.
The United States had already surpassed the record 100,000 deaths in the first months of the pandemic. The New York Timesdedicated the front page of their May 24, 2020, paper to publishing every deceased person’s name with a brief description of their personalities – with the headline “An Incalculable Loss.” At the time, readers described the dedication as heart-wrenching.
However, the U.S. would increase that number by 200,000, reaching 200,000 deaths in September 2020. States began easing pandemic restrictions in spite of public health officials’ warnings, just as masking became widespread to contain the virus. President Donald Trump had already taken office. had baselessly said many times that the pandemic wasn’t bad in the U.S. compared to other countries (it was) and that it was turning around soon. (It didn’t.)
Public health officials were concerned that people would become numb to the loss.
With 800,000 deaths – four times the September 2020 mark – more people have died from COVID-19 than the total number of people who died in the American Civil WarIt is on average, two years higher than deaths from common causes such as car accidents or flu.
It is another dark milestone that marks the U.S.’s dismal response to the pandemic. With 660,000 deaths, approximately 1 in 500 Americans had died of the virus by September 2021. Now, this number is closer than 1 in 400.
This is the new landmark, as compiled by Johns Hopkins UniversityAs the U.S. becomes once again,, experiencing a surgeOf cases. High vaccination rates reimplemented mask mandatesThis summer, cases fell due to lower rates. But as more of the population became vaccinated, with about 17 percent of Americans still having not received a single dose of a COVID vaccine, cases began rising again in the fall – this time driven by the Delta variant and now, the nascent Omicron variant.
Despite the U.S.’s vaccine drive over the past year, most of those deaths have occurred this year. The gap between the vaccination rates in counties that voted for Trump in 2020 and those that voted for Joe Biden is evident. is growingIt is expanding every day. Researchers have estimatedMore than 160,000 deaths that have occurred since June could have been avoided if vaccine keepers had received their jabs.
Biden encouraged Americans to get their shots on Tuesday, marking the “tragic milestone.”
“I urge all Americans: Do your patriotic duty to keep our country safe, to protect yourself and those around you, and to honor the memory of all those we have lost,” the president said.
As the more-transmissible Omicron spreads in the U.S.Health experts are concerned that winter holidays could lead to unhealthy behavior. another spike in cases. Last year’s winter holidays were followed by a spike in the daily average of new cases to over 250,000. The nation is experiencing a second rise in cases just weeks after Thanksgiving.
Many of the Omicron cases have been reported by people who have been infected. have been mild so far – but many of the cases have also been of unvaccinated people. Research has shown that receiving a booster shotThis could prevent people who have been vaccinated from contracting the variant.
Some experts in health believe that there is no end to this pandemic. are predictingThe U.S. will invariably reach 1 million COVID deaths. One study concluded that the U.S. is closer towards this milestone than official counts would indicate. Due to reporting challenges, 100,000 COVID deaths have not been reported.
One million deaths isn’t a milestone that has to be reached; indeed, countries with higher vaccination rates aren’t seeing nearly as many cases, showing that more deaths are preventable.
