evidence: COVID-19 variants were responsible for approximately 460,000 deaths in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic, according to a new preprint study released this week by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and Public Citizen. [...] "Two years ago, the U.S. recording 100,000 COVID-19 deaths was rightfully described as ‘An Incalculable Loss’ on the front page of The New York Times. The fact that the Omicron variant alone exceeded that mark in a few months is really at odds with the idea that ‘Omicron is mild’ and this is now just an ordinary seasonal virus," said Jo Walker, an infectious disease epidemiology PhD candidate at the Yale School of Public Health who led the analysis. "What will next winter, or the next time a new variant emerges, look like if we scale back, rather than strengthen, our ability to respond to the virus?" "The story of how the U.S. reached one million deaths cannot be fully told without understanding the global pandemic," said Zain Rizvi, research director at Public Citizen and a co-author of the study. "Ending global vaccine and treatment inequity can help protect American lives. We are only as safe as our neighbors."