Washington, February 23: US crossed the grim milestone of 500,000 on Monday,  which matches the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined. An emotional President Joe Biden called the milestone of more than 500,000 US deaths from Covid-19 "heartbreaking" on Monday and urged the country to unite against the pandemic.

According to an AFP report, US recorded an estimated 405,000 deaths in World War II, 58,000 in the Vietnam War and 36,000 in the Korean War. US President Joe Biden to Hold Candle Lighting Ceremony in Memory of COVID-19 Victims Today.

The 500,000 death toll has been achieved, despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a closely watched model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1, 2021.

US touched the grim milestone of 500,000 deaths from COVID-19

The US toll is by far the highest reported in the world. The average daily deaths and cases have plummeted in the past few weeks. On Monday, President Biden, accompanied by his wife Jill and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, stood outside the White House to mark a moment's silence in front of 500 candles representing the huge toll.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2021 07:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).