President Joe Biden expresses sorrow over the “tragic and completely avoidable” milestone, urging continued vaccination efforts as deaths surge among the unvaccinated.

The United States has surpassed 700,000 Covid-19-related deaths, a grim milestone that experts describe as both “tragic and completely avoidable.” This toll was reached on Friday, just months after the country hit 600,000 deaths in June. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the US has recorded a total of 43.6 million confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Despite the widespread availability of vaccines, the majority of recent deaths have been among the unvaccinated. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that unvaccinated Americans were 10 times more likely to face hospitalization and death due to Covid-19 compared to those who were vaccinated, especially as the Delta variant became predominant this summer.

In a statement marking the milestone, President Joe Biden called for reflection on the loss, emphasizing that while the country mourns, it must not become numb to the grief. He stressed the critical importance of vaccination in combating the pandemic and preventing further loss.