Fauci Says Real Coronavirus Death Toll In US Could Be As High As 900,000

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2021) US top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci says the United States has a greater number of coronavirus deaths than the officially reported figures.

"Sometimes the models are right on line, sometimes they're a bit off," Fauci, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been over 581,700 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the US. Meanwhile Fauci said that there is "no doubt" that the US has been "undercounting" and the figure is higher.

Fauci recalled the May 6 analysis from the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which suggests that the US COVID-19 death toll stands at around 900,000.

Since its global outbreak in March 2020, the coronavirus has impacted the United States more than any other country, with over 32.7 million Americans having been infected.

Last month, Fauci warned that the US was on the brink of another COVID-19 surge and said that it would be wrong for Americans to ease up on masking and social distancing on the assumption that the country was exceeding its vaccination targets.