US passes 300,000 Covid-19 deaths: Johns Hopkins tally

[WASHINGTON] More than 300,000 people in the United States have died from Covid-19, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally on Monday, as the country started its desperately-awaited vaccine program.

The grim milestone was reached on the day that New York nurse Sandra Lindsay became the first person in America to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, live on television. The country has recorded more than 16.3 million Covid-19 cases.

Over the last two weeks, the Johns Hopkins database has often registered more than 2,500 deaths from Covid-19 every day, hitting over 3,000 on both Wednesday and Saturday.

The shocking number of fatalities - by far the highest in the world - underlined the US's struggle to control the pandemic as authorities have given often mixed messages on mask-wearing, social distancing and shutdowns.

President Donald Trump and senior officials have also repeatedly downplayed the risks while cases have spread across the country.

Authorities had warned a spike in deaths was coming after millions traveled around the country for the Thanksgiving holiday last month.

An initial 2.9 million vaccine doses are set to be delivered to 636 sites around the US by Wednesday, with officials saying 20 million Americans could receive the two-shot regimen by year end, and 100 million by March.

AFP