US hits 700,000 COVID deaths just as cases begin to fall

By AMY FORLITI and CARLA K. JOHNSON
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The United States has reached its latest heartbreaking pandemic milestone, eclipsing 700,000 deaths from COVID-19 just as the surge from the delta variant is starting to slow down and give overwhelmed hospitals some relief. It took 3 ½ months for the U.S. to go from 600,000 to 700,000 deaths, driven by the variant’s rampant spread through unvaccinated Americans. The death toll is larger than the population of Boston.