COVID-19 deaths

Flags at the Washington Monument commemorate Americans who died from COVID-19. In 2021, life expectancy in the U.S. fell for the second year in a row.

Life expectancy in the U.S. continues to drop, driven by COVID-19

5:18pm August 31, 2022

Americans' life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row and is the biggest drop since the 1920s. COVID-19 is driving the downward trend, according to CDC data.

A preliminary report says 458 U.S. law enforcement officers died in 2021, citing COVID-19 as the leading cause of death for the second consecutive year.

COVID was again the leading cause of death among U.S. law enforcement in 2021

2:16pm January 12, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Some 458 officers died in the line of duty, making 2021 the deadliest year since 1930. The vast majority of deaths — 301 — are attributed to COVID-19, followed by firearm and traffic incidents.

President Biden reads the number of COVID-19 deaths from a card he keeps in his pocket on July 29, 2021.

Biden stopped marking grim COVID milestones as he fought to end the pandemic

7:30pm December 24, 2021

by Tamara Keith

Biden used to talk a lot about the COVID-19 death toll, but over the last year he's shifted to how fight the pandemic. Some want him to go back to addressing the country's grief.

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COVID-19 survivors gather in New York and place stickers representing lost relatives on a wall in remembrance of those who have died during the pandemic.

Health & Safety

COVID deaths leave thousands of U.S. kids grieving parents or primary caregivers

12:42pm October 07, 2021

Roughly 175,000 children in the U.S. have lost one or both parents or a grandparent caregiver to COVID-19, according to a new study. The majority come from racial and ethnic minority groups.

In December 2019, Cynthia Carrillo placed her older brother David at Villa Mesa Care Center, a nursing home in Upland, Calif. After the shutdown in March of 2020, Cynthia Carrillo couldn't visit David inside Villa Mesa. One month later, David, 65, who had

Health & Safety

In California, Nursing Home Owners Can Operate After They're Denied A License

7:21am May 26, 2021

Nursing home chain ReNew Health continues to care for hundreds of patients even after the state attempted to crack down. Before and during the pandemic, homes connected to ReNew had safety violations.

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Victims of COVID-19 are cremated in funeral pyres this week in New Delhi. Scientists says the real death toll and number of infections are likely much higher than what the Indian government is reporting.

Health & Safety

India Is Counting Thousands Of Daily COVID Deaths. How Many Is It Missing?

9:13pm April 30, 2021

Scientists, funeral directors and survivors say the real numbers of infections and deaths in India may be many times more than the reported figures.

Queue Listen Now

Congressional leaders held a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 2021 to mark the more than 500,000 U.S. deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 was the third leading underlying cause of death in 2020, acco

CDC: COVID-19 Was Third Leading Cause Of Death In 2020, People Of Color Hit Hardest

2:29pm March 31, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

A pair of reports published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday sheds new light on the approximately 375,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S. last year.

Embalmer and funeral director Kristy Oliver (left) and funeral attendant Sam Deras load the casket of a person who died after contracting COVID-19 into a hearse in El Cajon, Calif. People who work in hospitals and in funeral homes are witnesses to the los

'A Loss To The Whole Society': U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches 500,000

7:47pm February 22, 2021

by Pien Huang

As the country faces another wrenching milestone, there are signs of hope that we may be beating back the virus. But a brighter future won't bring back precious lives lost.

A doctor prepares to administer a vaccine injection at New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital on Friday.

National

U.S. Records More Than 4,000 Dead In 1 Day From COVID-19, A Grim New Record

1:31pm January 08, 2021

by Mark Katkov

The U.S. hit more than 4,000 deaths on Jan. 7, which also saw 274,703 new infections, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. continues to lead the world in both cases and deaths.

White flags planted by volunteers visualize lives lost in the U.S. to COVID-19 as part of an installation by artist Suzanne Firstenberg in Washington, D.C. The death toll has now reached 300,000.

How Do We Grieve 300,000 Lives Lost?

5:52pm December 14, 2020

by Will Stone

Eleven months into the COVID-19 crisis, an unimaginable death toll has been reached. NPR spoke to doctors, nurses and the bereaved about how they face loss every day.