The number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. was expected to reach 400,000 on Monday, according to a count from NBC News, a milestone that seemed unimaginable at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic a year ago.
More than 2 million people have been killed by the virus worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in the United States is the worst in the world, although it represents less than 5% of the world population.
The United States confirmed its first case of the virus in Seattle on January 21, 2020.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Almost a year later, 24 million people were infected in the United States, the largest number of confirmed cases in the world. California became the first state to hit 3 million cases on Monday, and Los Angeles County passed the 1 million case mark over the weekend, according to an NBC News count.
The death toll is much higher than expected at the beginning of the pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Birx, coronavirus coordinator at the White House, warned in April that up to 240,000 Americans could die from coronavirus, even if containment measures were followed “almost perfectly”. President Donald Trump described this estimated number as “worrying” and has since been criticized for first minimizing the threat posed by the virus and then disrupting the federal government’s response to it.
Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics
While US health officials rushed to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible, Covid-19 continued to spread at record rates across the country, with the United States facing the risk of new strains of mutant viruses spreading from the UK, Brazil, South Africa as well as new strains emerging in the USA
On Monday, nearly 12.3 million doses of vaccine were administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But in California, state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan recommended that providers suspend administration of doses of a batch of Moderna vaccine while investigating reports of possible allergic reactions.
“Less than 10 individuals have needed medical attention over the course of 24 hours,” said Pan, adding that they are making the call “out of extreme caution and also recognizing the extremely limited supply of vaccine.”
President-elect Joe Biden said last week that he would send the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard to help establish vaccine clinics in the United States as part of an ambitious plan to give vaccines to millions of Americans.
Corky Siemaszko contributed.