US COVID-19 deaths top 600,000

FILE PHOTO: Members of Congress observe a moment of silence for the 600,000 American lives lost to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 14, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 map, more than 600,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19.

The number of lives lost could make up the country’s 30th most populous city. It is also close to the number of people who died of cancer in 2019.

The solemn milestone comes as numbers continue to improve in the U.S.

About 3,400 Americans were dying each day in mid-January. Now, daily deaths are at about one-tenth of that.

The U.S. also hit 600,000 deaths on the same day California and New York, the country’s most populous states, lifted or announced the lifting of most of their remaining restrictions.

Part of the reason numbers have been decreasing is because of the vaccine rollout. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over half of all Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and over 43 percent are fully vaccinated.

President Joe Biden set a goal of having 70 percent of American adults get at least one dose by July 4. With that number currently sitting at 64.5 percent, and vaccine demand plummeting, the goal is looking less and less achievable by the day.