America's COVID death rate is much higher than in other wealthy nations, analysis finds. Here's why.

The U.S. has a slightly higher overall COVID-19 fatality rate than other high-income countries. But the death toll from the Omicron wave has really "set the country apart — and by wider margins than has been broadly recognized," The New York Times reported Tuesday night. "Since Dec. 1, when health officials announced the first Omicron case in the United States, the share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus is at least 63 percent higher than in any of these other large, wealthy nations."
Given Omicron's decreased severity, U.S. officials and experts had hoped the country could avoid another deadly wave, as some other countries had. It did not work out that way.
"Some of the reasons for America's difficulties are well known," the Times reports. "Despite having one of the world's most powerful arsenals of vaccines, the country has failed to vaccinate as many people as other large, wealthy nations," especially older Americans, and the U.S. "has fallen even further behind in administering booster shots." A recent Financial Times analysis found that the current U.S. hospitalization rate would be much lower if the U.S. had Britain's vaccination rate.
Subscribe to 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.
Americans are now dying at twice the rate of Britons and four times the rate of Germans, the Times found. In Britain, only 4 percent of people 65 and older are not fully vaccinated and 9 percent haven't been boosted. In the U.S., 12 percent of people 65 and older haven't been fully vaccinated and 43 percent haven't gotten a booster shot.
Vaccinations and boosters aren't the only explanations for why the U.S. is lagging behind its wealthy peers. Many Americans are obese or have diabetes, increasing the risks of severe COVID-19. And Americans trust the government and each other less. That trust deficit helps explain why the U.S. fared worse than poorer countries with less robust health care systems, The Washington Post reports, citing a peer-reviewed study of 117 countries published Tuesday in The Lancet.
"We found no links between COVID outcomes and democracy, populism, government effectiveness, universal health care, pandemic preparedness metrics, economic inequality, or trust in science," said co-author Thomas Bollyky at the Council on Foreign Relations. "What our study suggests is that when you have a novel contagious virus," he added, "the best way for the government to protect its citizens is to convince its citizens to protect themselves."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccines
Feature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
Unraveling autism: RFK Jr.'s vow to find a root cause
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
The sneaking rise of whooping cough
Under the Radar The measles outbreak isn't the only one to worry about
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths