US Covid death toll tops 800,000 in global record; most who died were unvaccinated

A year since the vaccination started, the official death toll due to COVID-19 surpassed 800,000 in the US, making it the country worst hit by the pandemic.

According to the tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University, around 450,000 of those deaths took place in 2021, despite vaccines being available since it was first authorised in December 2020..

According to reports, the vast majority of the deaths have been among the unvaccinated.

The actual death toll is being claimed to be high because cases were overlooked or ignored.

Paying respects to those who died, President Joe Biden continued to press people to get vaccinated.

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"As we mark the tragic milestone of 800,000 American deaths due to COVID-19, we remember each person and the lives they lived, and we pray for the loved ones left behind,” Biden said in a statement.

“To heal, we must remember. We must also act,” he said, adding, “As we head into the winter and confront a new variant, we must resolve to keep fighting this virus together.”

According to official data, the risk of dying from COVID-19 was 14 times higher among people who had not been fully vaccinated, compared to those who had, in September, the report analysed.

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The US, which accounts for approximately 4 per cent of the world’s population, has the highest reported toll of any country.

About 15 per cent of the 5.3 million known deaths were from the coronavirus in the US since the outbreak began in China two years ago, reports news agency AFP.

(With inputs from agencies)