As the United States goes into the New Year breaking single-day records for coronavirus deaths, data from the Centers for Disease Control suggests the true cumulative U.S. death toll is approaching half a million. Last week saw two new record daily totals of conformed Covid deaths of over 3,700, and as of Friday, the official U.S. death toll was 347,870. But according to the latest available figures from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the true current death toll is likely much greater — and could surpass half a million in a matter of weeks. But those figures only measure excess deaths through the week ending December 19, when the official confirmed death toll was at 316,000. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects an additional 200,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths by April.
