Approximately 200,000 people in the United States have died from complications stemming from the Chinese coronavirus before President Joe Biden’s first five months in office, more than half the coronavirus deaths seen during former President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House.
An estimated 202,401 people in the U.S. died due to complications from the coronavirus, just before Biden’s first five months in the White House. The nationwide death toll — which was at 397,611 when Biden first took office — has now surpassed 600,000 deaths, bringing that number to approximately 600,012, according to statistics provided by Johns Hopkins University.
The statistics also mean that the U.S. has suffered more than half the coronavirus deaths seen under Trump in less than five months of Biden’s administration.
After one month in office, the coronavirus death toll climbed from 397,611 to 497,374. By March 20, that number surpassed 500,000. By Biden’s third month in office, the nation had suffered a total of 568,284 coronavirus-related deaths, and by the president’s fourth month, that number was approaching 200,000.
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided to no longer count coronavirus cases among fully vaccinated people, unless the cases result in hospitalization or death, according to a report by Bloomberg.
While the CDC claimed the shift in its counting strategy was meant to maximize the quality of data collected, experts warned that the move could lead to missed patterns in who gets sick after receiving a vaccine against the Wuhan virus.
There is, however, some good news on the horizon. While coronavirus deaths continue to steadily climb, they do appear to be slowing down. Meanwhile, the CDC has lifted mask mandates for all “fully vaccinated” Americans.
Moreover, a recent study conducted by the world renowned Cleveland Clinic suggests that survivors of the coronavirus are just as protected as those who have been vaccinated — as the study found that they show lasting immunity against the virus.
Additionally, those who have previously been infected with the virus “are unlikely to benefit” from a coronavirus vaccination, the Cleveland Clinic study said.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.