evidence: 1 million have died from COVID in the US. Experts wonder how this seems normal. [...] When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck the United States, the idea of 1 million deaths from the virus seemed largely unimaginable -- with most projections estimating a few hundred thousand fatalities. [...] "Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to COVID-19. One million empty chairs around the dinner table. Each an irreplaceable loss. Each leaving behind a family, a community, and a nation forever changed because of this pandemic. Jill and I pray for each of them," he said. "As a nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember."