U.S. Passes 700,000 COVID-19 Death Milestone

In another grim milestone, the United States has passed 700,000 deaths from COVID-19 despite the widespread availability of safe and effective vaccines. According to The New York Times, the recent spate of deaths is mostly attributed to the Delta variant – add that to those who refuse to be vaccinated and it’s a recipe for disaster. The CDC reports that unvaccinated people have a 10 times higher risk of dying from the virus than vaccinated people. Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan, calls the deaths after the vaccines were made available to the public “absolutely unnecessary.” Another defining feature of the recent wave of deaths is that victims are younger, with those under 55 facing their highest death rate since the start of the pandemic.