Virus fatalities surpass deaths from some wars
The scale of the U.S. deaths from COVID-19 is difficult for many to comprehend as virus outbreaks continue to paralyze the nation. Some have equated the scale to war fatalities.
One graphic shared almost 5,000 times on Facebook contrasts American deaths in combat versus the COVID-19 death toll, which at the time was approaching 150,000. The image, posted by a page called Impeach Trump, linked the president to the deaths.
According to statistics from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the numbers cited in the image are broadly in the correct range. The national tally of deaths from COVID-19 hit 150,000 on July 29.
American battle deaths
The viral graphic includes five major conflicts in which the United States was involved throughout the 20th century: World War I, Korea, Vietnam and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The graphic does not include deaths from other conflicts the United States was involved in that century, including World War II and the Persian Gulf War.
According to the graphic, 140,181 American troops died in combat during these five conflicts combined. Its totals for four of the conflicts vary slightly from official tallies.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 53,402 Americans died in combat during World War I; 33,739 during the Korean War; and 47,434 during the Vietnam War. These statistics match records from the Defense Manpower Data Center inside the Department of Defense.
The Department of Defense states3,528 military personnel were killed in action during U.S. operations in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. The DOD also reports that 1,833 troops were killed in action in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. The United States maintains military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which may mean there are further causalities not included in the DOD’s official numbers for operations in those countries.
In total, the records from the VA and DOD equal 139,936 deaths in action from U.S. military personnel in these conflicts, slightly lower than the Impeach Trump graphic.
The graphic also does not include statistics from other major conflicts the United States was involved in, such as the Persian Gulf War, Civil War and World War II. The latter two conflicts took by far the most American lives, with 140,414 battle deaths during the Civil War on the Union side and 291,557 American battle deaths throughout World War II.
Coronavirus death toll
After briefly slowing at the beginning of the summer, the coronavirus death toll has begun to steadily tick upward in the United States as states experience new outbreaks of the virus.
The official death toll is in constant flux as more Americans are taken by the disease. On the date the Facebook graphic was posted, July 22, the U.S. had recorded a total of 136,700 deaths, according the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University. That number is somewhat short of the Facebook graphic’s 145,689 deaths.
A New York Times analysis found, however, that 190,600 more people than usual had died in the United States from March to July of this year, indicating that the true toll from the fallout of the virus isn't being fully captured in statistics. "That number is 50,000 higher than the official count of coronavirus deaths for that period," The Times wrote.
Experts also agree that the coronavirus death toll is likely being undercounted, meaning the number of cases and deaths is higher than reported statistics would indicate.
Our ruling: True
More Americans have now died from the coronavirus than did in battle throughout several major military conflicts in American history. The official death toll is also likely undercounted, meaning that the human cost of the pandemic is more severe than we now know. We rate this claim TRUE because it is supported by our research.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
The national tally of deaths from
COVID-19 hit 150,000 on July 29.