COVID-19 continues to cause chaos in the United States. Over 170,000 people have died of the virus. With states setting daily case records, the US has now passed another milestone. This year, the pandemic has become the third leading cause of death in the country. Heart disease and cancer occupy the top 2 spots.
COVID-19 US Death Toll
Gizmodo reports that accidents used to occupy COVID-19’s spot in 2017. That year, accidents killed 169,936 Americans. Next to accidents were lung diseases like emphysema and asthma, which killed 160,201 people. However, in 2020, Johns Hopkins University says that COVID-19 has killed at least 171,000 Americans. Respectively, heart disease and cancer had killed 647,457 and 599,108 people in 2017.
In the Gizmodo report, models also predict that over 200,000 will die of COVID-19 by the fall. With current trends, the COVID-19 death toll in the US might reach 300,000 by the end of the year.
The True Impact of COVID-19
The CDC has also said that it has recorded about 220,000 excess deaths this year. This number represents 50,000 more deaths than the official COVID-19 tally. It’s also likely that COVID-19 had factored in a sizable portion of these numbers. As hospitals keep filling up with COVID-19 cases, they couldn’t cater to people sick of other diseases.
Covid-19 just passed another horrible milestone in the U.S. https://t.co/nRdvOQ8XFA pic.twitter.com/mjq0AS09jM
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) August 18, 2020
According to Gizmodo, the US has suffered more COVID-19 deaths than all other countries. Even though some of them endured large waves of cases, like Spain and France, they now have a lower infection rate.
Should the US Remain Hopeful?
Only six months into the pandemic, the US has to improve its safety measures. Government efforts could still work, but the worst is yet to come as winter approaches.
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