U.S. Passes 700,000 COVID-19 Deaths

MONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The United States has now surpassed 700,000 COVID-19 deaths, as the highly contagious delta variant continues to hold the country in its grip.

America continues to have more COVID-19 deaths than any other country in the world, followed by Brazil with more than 597,000 deaths and India with more than 448,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Exactly who is perishing to COVID-19 is changing, according to an analysis conducted by The New York Times. Most of the last 100,000 Americans to die from the disease did so in a period where vaccines were widely available, and most of the fatalities during this period have been in unvaccinated people, statistics show. A disproportionate number of deaths also occurred in the South -- especially Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas -- where vaccination rates are particularly low, The Times said.

Fatal COVID-19 cases also appear to be occurring in younger people: In August, people in age groups younger than 55 years saw the highest death tolls to date in the pandemic, The Times said.

The New York Times Article