US COVID-19 deaths reach 800,000

FILE – A person is brought to a medical transport vehicle from Banner Desert Medical Center as several transports and ambulances are shown parked outside the emergency room entrance in Mesa, Ariz., on June 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

by: Sarakshi Rai, The Hill via Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Dec 12, 2021 / 06:30 PM AST

Updated: Dec 12, 2021 / 06:30 PM AST

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(The Hill) — The U.S. has reached the grim milestone of 800,000 deaths related to COVID-19, Reuters reports.

Over 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 (CDC) indicate that the total number of deaths involving COVID-19 in 2020 was 385,343.

The U.S. also ranks the worst in terms of per capita deaths from COVID-19 when compared to other G7 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 when compared with wealthy countries that have access to vaccines, Reuters said. The death rate in the country is three times higher than Canada and 11 times higher than Japan.