A look back on US response as deaths top 100,000

The number of Americans who have died from coronavirus has hit the grim milestone of at least 100,000.

That count is the best estimate and most assuredly an undercount. But it represents the stark reality that more Americans have died from the virus than from the Vietnam and Korea wars combined.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the virus has infected nearly 5.5 million people worldwide and killed over 346,000. The U.S. has far and away the most infections and deaths.

Early on, President Donald Trump downplayed the severity of the coronavirus and predicted the country wouldn't reach this death toll. As early as March, leading U.S. infectious disease experts warned that COVID-19 could claim more than 100,000 American lives.