The United States has surpassed 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus, far more than any country in the world, as the world enters its second year of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • The United States has surpassed 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, far more than any country in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University

  • The first U.S. death from the coronavirus was reported on Feb. 29, 2020, though it was later revealed that the first American death from COVID-19 occurred earlier in February 2020

  • The death toll nearly matches the number of Americans killed in World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War combined

  • Despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1

The nation surpassed the grim milestone on Monday, just over a year after the first confirmed U.S. fatality due to the novel coronavirus.

The death toll sits at 500,071, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. surpassed 450,000 deaths at the beginning of February.

The first U.S. COVID-19 death was reported on Feb. 29, 2020, though it was later revealed that the first American death from the novel coronavirus occurred earlier in February 2020.

Since then, the number of Americans who have died of COVID-19 rivals the population of the entire cities of Atlanta, or Sacramento, California — and larger than the estimated populations of Miami, Kansas City, Omaha, Nebraska, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The death toll also nearly matches the number of Americans killed in World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War combined.

The devastation is akin to a 9/11 every day for nearly six months.

Despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1.

The U.S. toll is by far the highest reported in the world, accounting for 20 percent of the nearly 2.5 million coronavirus deaths globally, though the true numbers are thought to be significantly greater, in part because of the many cases that were overlooked, especially early in the outbreak.

Average daily deaths and cases have plummeted in the past few weeks. Virus deaths have fallen from more than 4,000 reported on some days in January to an average of fewer than 1,900 per day. But experts warn that dangerous variants could cause the trend to reverse itself.

Some experts say not enough Americans have been inoculated yet for the vaccine to be making much of a difference.

Instead, the drop-off in deaths and cases has been attributed to the passing of the holidays; the cold and bleak days of midwinter, when many people are inclined to stay home; and better adherence to mask rules and social distancing.

The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. happened in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead. The toll hit 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 in December. Then it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 and about two months to climb from 400,000 to the brink of 500,000.

The U.S. recorded an estimated 405,000 deaths in World War II, 58,000 in the Vietnam War and 36,000 in the Korean War.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.