U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 400,000
The U.S. death toll surpassed 400,000 on Tuesday and now stands at 400,022 fatalities.
![400,000 Americans Lost to Covid-19](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/USCOVID19DEATHS_011820_V04_BV_1611018418482_hpEmbed_1x1_992.jpg)
The number of American lives lost to the coronavirus is more people than the number of U.S. soldiers who died in battle during World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined, according to a data estimate compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The U.S. death toll is roughly equivalent to the population of Tampa, Florida, or Tulsa, Oklahoma.
![PHOTO: An employee moves bodies of deceased patients to a refrigerated semi-truck at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on Jan. 14, 2021 in Tucson, Ariz. Refrigerated trucks were used for body storage amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/covid-az2-01-gty-iwb-210119_1611068348299_hpMain.jpg)
![PHOTO: An employee prepares to move bodies of deceased patients to a refrigerated semi-truck at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on Jan. 14, 2021 in Tucson, Ariz. Refrigerated trucks were used for body storage amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/covid-az-01-gty-iwb-210119_1611068348295_hpMain.jpg)
By the middle of February, "we expect half a million deaths" in the U.S. from COVID-19, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who’s nominated to serve as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CBS’ "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropolous contributed to this report.