Covid claims 1m Americans

President Joe Biden ordered flags across the US to be flown at half-mast yesterday to mark the nation’s millionth death from Covid-19. The grim milestone was passed amid political gridlock over the president’s call for a US$22.5 billion (NZ$36b) package to fund Covid-19 relief, including US$5b (NZ$8b) in international aid. The White House is forecasting awave of up to 100 million infections in the US during the northern autumn. The US recorded its first Covid-19 death in early February 2020. At the time, the Trump Administration predicted a death toll of up to 240,000. Then-President Donald Trump was ambivalent about protective measures and sceptical of mainstream scientific advice. The wearing of masks became deeply politicised, and conspiracy theories circulated, depressing the uptake of vaccines compared with other developed countries. Only two-thirds of Americans have had the basic immunisation.