| There was a time in the U.S. that 200,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus was inconceivable. Today, it is on track to become a reality. The milestone is a grim and devastating reminder of how America has failed to contain the virus—stood out on the world stage as a result. The U.S., with 4% of the world's population, accounts for about 21% of global coronavirus deaths. Eight long months after the first confirmed U.S. case, elderly patients, Black, Latino and Indigenous people, as well as those with other medical conditions, have disproportionately died from Covid-19. The impact has also been especially acute in a dozen hard-hit states, including New York, New Jersey, Texas, California and Florida. Reaching 200,000 fatalities is "a reflection of just how extensive the transmission of this virus has been in this country and how ineffective our public health approach has been to containing and stopping the spread," said Josh Michaud, associate director for global health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent nonprofit. But what does 200,000 deaths mean, really? It's the loss of 121 children and teenagers, most of them Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan descent, earlier this year. It's the deaths of residents in a nursing home after an outbreak at a Maine wedding last month. It's losing people in prison, meatpacking workers, teachers and medical professionals. The numbers of those we've lost could fill a midsize U.S. city like Yonkers, New York, or Huntsville, Alabama. Please spare a thought for them today.—Emma Court | 
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