SEATTLE, Wash. – Washington health care providers are reacting to the United States’ official COVID-19 death toll surpassing one million.
Dr. John Lynch with UW Medicine says the actual toll is probably much higher.
“That one million count, as large as it is, it’s a real underestimate of the number of people who’ve died due to COVID 19,” said Lynch. “We haven’t been able to capture all of that.”
He says the effects of the pandemic stretch well beyond those who have been lost.
“We have to think about behind that one million deaths, all the people who have lost someone and the impacts on their families, the children of lost parents, the parents of lost children, and other family members,” said Lynch. “As well as people who continue to struggle with the aftereffects of COVID.”
He says the recent rise in cases shows we’re not out of the woods yet.
Lynch expects more surges in the future and continues to urge people to get vaccinated, wear masks in crowded places, and take other precautions.