Texas Hospitals Cope With State's Surge In Coronavirus Cases
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Medical staff wearing full PPE wrap a deceased patient with bed sheets and a body bag in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on June 30, 2020 in Houston, Texas.

The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has topped 400,000 on Tuesday as vaccinations continue to roll out slowly compared to the spread of infection, a Reuters tally showed.

This grim milestone in the COVID-19 death toll comes as President Donald Trump is set to leave the office to be replaced by President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday.

ABC News reported that this many people in the COVID-19 death toll could quickly fill the Madison Square Garden in New York City and is almost equivalent to Tampa, Florida's overall population.

It was also higher than the number of soldier deaths during World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War, an analysis by the Department of Veterans Affairs showed.

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The Associated Press reported that a model by the University of Washington predicted over 567,000 lives could be lost in the pandemic by May 1.

The virus isn't even finished spreading in the country despite the arrival of vaccines from drug makers. Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, and Vermont were just some states that asked for more doses of approved vaccines through Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Daily COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches 4,000

This spike in the COVID-19 death toll was seen since the past Christmas holiday season. If deaths in the past three weeks are to be compared before Christmas, there would be over 11,000 deaths difference.

The number of deaths three weeks before Christmas were at 52,715, while deaths in the recent past three weeks topped 63,793, a Reuters analysis said.

On a more worrisome note, daily COVID-19 death numbers went up beyond 4,000 for the first time on January 6. It was the highest number of deaths recorded as some 18 states, including Texas, California, and Pennsylvania, reported their highest death tolls in January. 

One in Five COVID-19 Deaths Happens in America

Globally, more than two million lives were taken by the coronavirus. The U.S. accounts for nearly 20 percent of it, despite the U.S. making up only just over four percent of the world's population.

"That the U.S. reached the grotesque milestone of 400,000 [COVID-19] deaths should stop us in our tracks," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins.

For Nuzzo, Americans should demand explanations from leaders about how they've "allowed" the situation to balloon at the rate that it is now, bringing with it a "horrific loss of life."

Even though the Trump administration has been credited for its achievements in Operation Warp Speed - the program to fast-track development and distribution of vaccines - it has also faced criticism. 

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The president made some comments in downplaying the threat of the coronavirus and mocking the safety measures to prevent it. Despite battling COVID-19 himself, his opinion of the virus remained unchanged.

White House spokesperson Judd Deere defended the administration and expressed grief for the lives lost in the pandemic.

"Thanks to the president's leadership, Operation Warp Speed has led to the development of multiple safe and effective vaccines in record time, something many said would never happen," Deere said.

Taking Trump's place on Wednesday, Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion aid package to improve efforts against the COVID-19.