Global COVID deaths have now surpassed 5 million since the virus first emerged nearly two years ago, with the U.S. recording more than any other country.
According to data collected by the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University, high and middle-income countries made up more than half of all reported COVID deaths.
The U.S. alone recorded 745,836 COVID-attributable deaths as of November 1, more than any other country.
Johns Hopkins University's death tally also found that 43,467 people had succumbed to the virus in the past 28 days in the U.S., again the most of any other country in the same period.
More Americans have died from COVID than the 620,000 military fatalities during the American Civil War.
Nations in Eastern Europe are suffering a surge, with Russia and Ukraine recording 28,015 and 11,559 deaths in the past 28 days.
In Western Europe, the U.K. has recorded 3,717 deaths in the previous 28 days, taking its total COVID fatalities to 141,055, the highest of any country in the region.
According to The Associated Press, COVID is now the third-leading cause of death in the world after heart disease and strokes.
Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, director of ICAP, the global health center at Columbia University told AP that wealthier nations had larger populations of older residents and cancer survivors who were more vulnerable to COVID.
In contrast, she said poorer nations had larger populations of children and young adults who are less likely to die or become seriously ill from COVID.
She told the agency: "What's uniquely different about this pandemic is it hit hardest the high-resource countries. That's the irony of COVID-19."
Newsweek has contacted Dr. El-Sadr for comment.
Despite the high death toll in the U.S., the average daily number of COVID cases has continued to fall following the summer resurgence fueled by the Delta variant.
The fall can be attributable to more Americans taking up the COVID vaccine as a result of the growing number of vaccine mandates and the FDA's approval of the Pfizer dose.
According to the CDC, as of October 31, 66.7 percent of the U.S. population HAD received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine with 97.2 percent of the 65 and over age group being jabbed at least once.
Some 58 percent of the U.S. population has been fully jabbed against COVID with 85.3 percent of those 65 or over being recorded as being fully vaccinated.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anders Anglesey is a U.S. News Reporter based in London, U.K., covering crime, politics, online extremism and trending stories. Anders ... Read more
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