Public/Global Health

US COVID-19 deaths reach 800,000

by Sarakshi Rai 12/12/21 01:16 PM ET

The U.S. has reached the grim milestone of 800,000 deaths related to COVID-19, Reuters reported.

More than 450,000 people in the United States have died after contracting COVID-19 so far in 2021, according to the news service, which added that the total accounts for 57 percent of all U.S. deaths from the illness since the pandemic started.

The 2021 death toll in the U.S. had already surpassed the 2020 total in November. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the total number of deaths involving COVID-19 in 2020 was 385,343.

The Reuters report noted that while it took 111 days for U.S. deaths to rise from 600,000 to 700,000, the country added the next 100,000 deaths in just 73 days.

The United States has the most COVID-19 deaths globally and is closely followed by Brazil and India.

The U.S. also ranks the worst in terms of per capita deaths from COVID-19 among the Group of Seven countries in the period between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, according to the Reuters analysis.

Data show that the U.S. accounts for 14 percent of all reported COVID-19 deaths and 19 percent of cases worldwide. The country is set to soon surpass 50 million cases.

The data also show that the United States has some of the highest deaths per capita among wealthy countries that have access to vaccines, Reuters said.

The country’s death rate is also three times higher than Canada’s and 11 times higher than Japan’s.

The grim U.S. milestone comes despite the fact that the country has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines and has given booster doses the green light for all adults and for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Health officials are intensifying their calls for all American adults to get booster shots amid the ongoing threat of the omicron variant, a strain of COVID-19 first discovered in South Africa.