The United States records more than 900,000 deaths from COVID-19
The United States has recorded more than 900,000 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for 15.7% of the global total, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University on February 4. By some estimates, the number of deaths from COVID-19 is now higher than the number of Americans who died from heart disease or cancer in 2020 and is equivalent to the population of Columbus, Ohio.
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| Medical staff treat a COVID-19 patient at St. Mary's Medical Center in Tarzana, California (USA) on January 3, 2021. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
According to data analysis from the US National Academy of Sciences, about 8.1 million family members have lost loved ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic and about 300,000 Americans have died since the Delta and Omicron variants appeared in the country in the summer of 2021. The COVID-19 death rate in the US is highest in Mississippi and lowest in Hawaii.
Overall, more than 1 in 5 people in the US have been infected with COVID-19, with more than 76 million cases reported since the start of the pandemic. Racial and ethnic minorities in the US also face increased risk of testing positive, leading to increased hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. Accordingly, the likelihood of dying from COVID-19 for African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans is 1 to 2 times higher than for white people.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in the country, with an average of 415,000 positive cases, 2,300 deaths per day and 120,000 patients being treated in hospitals, there are still about 62 million eligible Americans who have not been vaccinated, while another 84 million have not yet received a booster shot.
Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the number of COVID-19 deaths in the US is about 32% higher than reported from February 2020 to September 2021. According to the latest CDC data, unvaccinated adults are 97 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than fully vaccinated adults with booster doses. Notably, the risk of dying from COVID-19 is significantly higher for older adults, with 76% of those who have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began being 65 years or older, including more than 28% of those who have died in the 85 and older age group.
About 150,000 nursing home residents and staff have died from COVID-19, accounting for about 15% of all deaths in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Globally, more than 5.7 million deaths from COVID-19 have been reported, also according to Johns Hopkins data.
