US Covid deaths hit 1m, a death toll higher than any other country

American flags fly at half-staff to mark one million deaths from the coronavirus on the National Mall in Washington, on 12 May. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

More than one million people have died in the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, far and away the most deaths of any country.

While the sheer number of deaths from the coronavirus sets the US apart, the country’s large population of 332.5 million people does not explain the staggering mortality rate, which is among the highest in the world.