This year's COVID death toll tops 2020's with over 385,000 dead


The number of U.S. COVID-19 deaths in 2021 has surpassed the 2020 death toll, according to data provided by the federal government and Johns Hopkins University.
Some 385,343 Americans were reported to have died of COVID in 2020. The total death toll now exceeds 770,800.
Experts attribute this increase to the public's growing unwillingness to mask and social distance as well as to lower-than-expected vaccination rates. They also acknowledge that the virus is making inroads among highly vaccinated populations due to the emergence of the contagious Delta variant. The most recent data from the New York Times shows hot spots flaring up in well-vaxxed parts of the Midwest, New England, and the Southwest, rather than in the more vaccine-skeptical Southern states.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
About 59 percent of the U.S. population has been vaccinated. According to a study co-authored by epidemiologist Ana Bento, higher vaccination rates could have saved 140,000 lives between the beginning of January 2021 and the end of May, but Bento also told the Wall Street Journal that the vaccine is "not a panacea."
Public health authorities continue to urge unvaccinated Americans to take the vaccine and to encourage those who have been vaccinated to get booster shots.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a week
Speed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial unease
Speed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in Fiji
Under the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the right
Speed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the rise
The Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
‘Nightmare bacteria’ are rapidly spreading
Under the radar The infections are largely resistant to antibiotics
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the US
The explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
-
Climate change is making us eat more sugar
Under the radar Sweets make the heat feel more manageable
-
Trump makes unmoored claims on Tylenol and autism
Speed Read No causal relationship has been established between autism and acetaminophen use during pregnancy
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shot
Speed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox