U.S. COVID Death Toll Surpasses World War II Combat Fatalities; Daily Death Toll Will Surpass 9/11 and Pearl Harbor for Next 90 Days

The United States hit a grim milestone on Thursday night as the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpasses the number of World War II combat fatalities.

USA Today reports: “One day after reporting more than 3,000 COVID-19 deaths for the first time, the U.S. topped 292,000 total deaths, several hundred more than the number of battlefield deaths in WWII, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Johns Hopkins University data dashboard reported 3,124 deaths on Wednesday, a single-day toll worse than 9/11, when about 2,900 people were killed, and Pearl Harbor, which resulted in about 2,400 deaths.”

Additionally, for the next 60 to 90 days, the United States will likely have more coronavirus-related deaths PER DAY “than we had at 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor” according to the CDC's Robert Redfield.

Meanwhile, an FDA panel on Thursday approved emergency authorization use of the Pfizer vaccine, clearing one more hurdle before it can get in the arms of the American public. The full agency will need to approve it now.

The NYT reports: “The agency is likely to do so within days, giving health care workers and nursing home residents first priority to begin receiving the first shots early next week. The F.D.A.'s vaccine advisory panel, composed of independent scientific experts, infectious disease doctors and statisticians, voted 17 to 4, with one member abstaining, in favor of emergency authorization for people 16 and older. With rare exceptions, the F.D.A. follows the advice of its advisory panels.”