The US death toll from the coronavirus hit 900,000 on Friday, an astronomically high number hastily reached in part due to the rapid spread of the contagious Omicron variant.

The startling new milestone comes less than two months after the death toll passed 800,000.

Over 60,000 Covid-related deaths were reported in January, nearly double the number seen in November, shortly before the Omicron variant spread rapidly across the country.

While Covid vaccines have become widely available for Americans, the number of people who have been fully vaccinated, meaning they have received two doses, is still relatively low, at just 64%. That’s about 212 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Covid cases have been on the decline in nearly all 50 states, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins.

The number of Americans getting hospitalized with Covid-19 has decreased 15% since mid-January, but deaths per day are still concerningly high, sitting at over 2,400 each day on average.

Virus-related deaths are on the rise in at least 35 states, highlighting the time between initial diagnosis and when victims succumb to the illness.

Public Health experts continue to push for broader vaccination and boosting, noting it would drastically reduce the number of deaths recorded.

The US has the highest reported toll of any country, with the real number of lives lost to the coronavirus expected to be significantly higher than what has been reported.

Medical experts believe some coronavirus deaths could have been misattributed to other conditions. The death toll is believed to be higher as well because of the number of Americans who were thought to have died of chronic illnesses, like heart disease or diabetes, because they were unable or unwilling to obtain treatment during the pandemic.

This is a breaking news story, check back for updates…

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