US death toll from COVID-19 hits 900,000

Gulf Today Report

Propelled in part by the wildly contagious omicron variant, the US death toll from COVID-19 hit 900,000 on Friday, less than two months after eclipsing 800,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.

New cases linked to the Omicron variant are falling, but daily deaths are still rising, with an average of 2,400 now, according to government figures.

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"Hospitalisations remain high, stretching our healthcare capacity and workforce to its limits in some areas of the country," said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The two-year total, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of Indianapolis, San Francisco, or Charlotte, North Carolina.

The United States has the most Covid deaths in absolute terms, ahead of Brazil and India.

The milestone comes more than 13 months into a vaccination drive that has been beset by misinformation and political and legal strife, though the shots have proved safe and highly effective at preventing serious illness and death.

"It is an astronomically high number. If you had told most Americans two years ago as this pandemic was getting going that 900,000 Americans would die over the next few years, I think most people would not have believed it,” said Dr Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

He lamented that most of the deaths happened after the vaccine gained authorisation.

In his statement Biden again urged Americans to get vaccinated.

"Vaccines and boosters have proven incredibly effective, and offer the highest level of protection," he said.

The United States has the most Covid deaths in absolute terms, ahead of Brazil and India, according to government figures.

The Covid pandemic has killed at least 5.7 million people worldwide since it began in December 2019, according to an AFP tally published on Friday.

But the World Health Organisation says the actual toll could be two to three times higher.