US surpasses 700,000 COVID-19 deaths: Report

The United States has organized among the world's most effective vaccine roll-outs, after a heavily criticized early response to the pandemic.

With no respite from coronavirus (Covid-19) despite vaccination, US fatalities surpassed 700,000 on Friday, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, a toll roughly equivalent to the population of the nation's capital Washington.

The grim threshold comes with an average of well over 1,000 dying each day, in a country where 55.7% of the population is now fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AFP reported.

The United States has organized among the world's most effective vaccine roll-outs, after a heavily criticized early response to the pandemic. But it nonetheless finds itself having notched the most fatalities in the world, far exceeding other frontrunners such as Brazil and India, and facing a resurgence in cases due to the prominence of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Nearly 4.8 million people worldwide have died since the outbreak began in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources.

01:39Former US President Donald Trump awarded honorary 9th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo02:34US designates Pakistan, China as nations of particular concern for religious freedom violation02:29US Capitol rioter 'QAnon Shaman' sentenced to 41 months in prison02:00Pfizer CEO calls people who spread Covid vaccine misinformation as ‘criminals’03:49Nearly a third of millennials in United States identify as LGBTQ: Study03:09US FDA authorises Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for kids aged between 5 to 11 years02:26United States issues first passport with gender 'X' marker01:57Happy Birthday Kamala Harris: Interesting facts about the US Vice President02:12William Shatner becomes oldest person to travel to space with Blue Origin rocket01:02US: FDA authorises e-cigarette in a first, citing benefit for smokers