US President Joe Biden said that the fact that the US death toll from the coronavirus infection has surpassed 7,00,000 means that more people need to get vaccinated in the country.
"To heal we must remember, and as our nation mourns the painful milestone of 7,00,000 American deaths due to COVID-19, we must not become numb to the sorrow. ...the astonishing death toll is yet another reminder of just how important it is to get vaccinated," Biden said in a Saturday statement.
The US leader pointed out that his country has made "extraordinary progress" in the fight against COVID-19 this year, thanks to vaccines.
"More than three-quarters of all Americans age 12 and up have now received at least one vaccine dose - including nearly 94 pe rcent of all seniors," Biden emphasised.
On Monday, Biden got the Pfizer booster shot administered to him, in line with the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for COVID-19 booster shots to be administered only to those over 65 years of age and to individuals at risk.
The United States has the largest total number of confirmed coronavirus cases and the greatest COVID-19 death toll of all the countries in the world. It is currently followed by the United Kingdom and India. According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, the US has registered over 43.6 million cases since the start of the pandemic and the number of fatalities has surpassed 700,770.
