Virus has laid bare America’s fragmented healthcare system and corrosive racial and socioeconomic inequality

More than one million people have died in the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, far and away the most deaths of any country.

While the sheer number of deaths from the coronavirus sets the US apart, the country’s large population of 332.5 million people does not explain the staggering mortality rate, which is among the highest in the world.

For every 100,000 residents, 303 people have died from Covid-19, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. Among the 20 worst affected nations, only one other countries – Brazil – has higher mortality rates per 100,000 people.

Deaths directly attributable to Covid-19 are only one measure of the pandemic’s toll. Deaths from drug overdoses hit a record high in 2021, killing at least 100,000 Americans. Chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension and dementia have contributed to the number of “excess deaths” […]