Beijing, China - May 4, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Screenshot of ABCNews website showing Anthony Fauci's comments

Washington D.C., USA - Feb 18, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of thick snow on ground, U.S. Capitol building
3. Icy road, Washington Monument
4. Icy road, garbage on roadside
5. Pedestrian crossing street

Washington D.C., USA - Feb 22, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Church exterior
7. Various of residents mourning outside church

FILE: Chicago, Illinois, USA - Nov 18, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Medical worker treating patient
9. Patient in ward

FILE: Chicago, Illinois, USA - Nov 18, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Medics putting on personal protective equipment
11. Medical worker talking with reporter
12. Medical workers at station

FILE: Chicago, Illinois, USA - Nov 18, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Nurse collecting nasal swab sample from patient
14. Blood being drawn from patient
15. Tubes of blood

New York City, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Various of people queuing outside of vaccine hub, vaccination posters

FILE: New York City, USA - April 2020 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
17. People collecting food at food bank

New York City, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
18. Various of pedestrians

FILE: USA - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland）
19. Empty street
20. Various of closed stores

The high number of fatalities caused by COVID-19 in the United States reflects the U.S. government's failed response to the pandemic, said U.S. media and experts.

The United States reached the grim milestone of 500,000 coronavirus deaths on Monday with the nationwide caseload surpassing 28.1 million, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 has exceed the number of Americans who died in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. It is equivalent to the population of the entire state of Wyoming.

The 500,000 mark also arouses reflections among the American society. The Washington Post commented that experts warned about the 500,000 mark from the very beginning. However, the government took the lead to doubt and even attack this assertion. This phenomenon directly affected the public attitude towards the epidemic, even the simple measure of wearing masks was delayed fatally across the country.

Anthony Fauci, top American infectious disease expert, told the U.S. morning program "Good Morning America" that the United States, as a highly developed rich country, has done worse than most of other countries in dealing with the COVID-19. He even used a medical analogy, saying: “Do a metaphorical autopsy on how things went. It was just bad. It is bad now."

Some U.S. media also noted that the 500,000 deaths also mean the equal number of vacancies in the American society. It may be a vacant chair in a family or an empty desk in a company. Jobs may be filled within a short time, but the pain in people's heart will take much longer to heal.