One million deaths later, the United States is still not over COVID-19

WASHINGTON—On the very day the United States agreed to a global summit to demonstrate its leadership in fighting COVID-19, it marked a grim milestone illustrating its world-leading failure to fight the virus at home.

One million American deaths from the coronavirus. The loss is staggering. In just over two years, more people than the population of San Francisco — gone.

“Today, we mark a tragic milestone here in the United States: one million COVID deaths, one million empty chairs around the family dinner table — each irreplaceable. Irreplaceable losses, each leaving behind a family, a community forever changed because of this pandemic, ”President Joe Biden said in his speech kicking off the summit Thursday. “Around the world, many more millions have died. Millions of children have been orphaned. And with thousands still dying every day, now is the time for us to act — all of us — together.”

The summit meeting, attended virtually by leaders from around the world and “hosted” by Germany, Belize, Senegal, Indonesia and the US, focused its energy on fighting the virus by sharing access to vaccines and treatments with developing countries, and preparing for future pandemics by tracking pathogens worldwide. The White House announced contributions from each participating country and a host of charitable and corporate partners, totaling $3.2 billion US in addition to funding announced previously.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought a commitment of $512 million, in addition to an earlier announced $220 million. “We must continue to work together and support the international response to end this pandemic everywhere and for everyone,” Trudeau said in a statement issued by his office.

Biden directed some words to the lawmakers who work in the Capitol just a mile down the road from his home office. “I continue to call on Congress here at home to take the urgent action to provide emergency COVID-19 funding that is vital to protect Americans,” he said. He noted that $5 billion — of $22 billion he’s requested — would fund pandemic-fighting efforts around the globe.

At the Capitol, flags were flying at half-mast in honor of the one million lost lives, and about 15 lawmakers with about an equal number of their staff gathered on the steps in the late afternoon for a moment of silence in mourning.

The Episcopal bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, spoke on the steps in the brief ceremony, leading a prayer “that we might end this scourge at last, not only in this country, but in your world.” Contemplating one million American deaths, she asked forgiveness for “the things done and left undone that might have saved those we lost.”

One thing undone at the moment that would be of particular interest to those lawmakers gathered to pray with her, as Biden had pointed out, is funding the next phase of the American pandemic response. Biden’s $22-billion request has languished for more than two months, which White House officials warned this week inviting risks of resurgence later this year that could see another 100 million US infections.

After the summit, National Security Council global health director Dr. Raj Panjabi said that while none of the global commitments the US announced Thursday — or has announced so far — is dependent on new funding from Congress, successfully implementing the initiatives that are being funded does depend on them. He likened the already approved funding to a “down payment” on programs that require further investment to pay off.

And I have emphasized that it is needed. “Without that funding, we’ll find ourselves lagging behind in the global fight,” Panjabi said. “The pandemic is not over. There are still thousands of deaths every day around the world. And this is not a time to back down from this fight.”

And yet, at home, there’s a sense that whether the pandemic is over or not, there may be no stomach left for the fight. A Pew Research analysis of polling released Thursday found that just 19 per cent of Americans rated COVID-19 as a very big problem for the country — the lowest ranked among the 12 issues it polled (inflation ranked highest).

Back when 100,000 Americans died, The New York Times filled its front page with the names of those who died in the “Incalculable Loss.” To mark a number 10 times higher, three dozen congressional employees stood around the front steps of their workplace for 15 minutes.

As it did with other round-number milestones, the National Cathedral tolled its funeral bell. Every time another 100,000 have died, it has marked the occasion by tolling the bell once for each thousand deaths, a moving memorial that prompts long reflection. This week, it rang the bell 1,001 times — one extra to mark the ongoing danger. The process of that memorial took more than an hour and a half.

But whatever happens in the future — whether Congress approves new funding or not, whether the projected resurgence comes or not — there won’t be any more such memorials. “The cathedral said this will be the final time that the bell is to be tolled to memorialize COVID-19 victims,” the Episcopal News Service wrote.

One million deaths in the US

So far.

“We all must do more,” Biden said. “We must honor those we have lost by doing everything we can to prevent as many deaths as possible.”

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