Biden talks 500,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.

President Biden made remarks on the lives lost to COVID-19 as the U.S. surpassed 500,000 deaths, followed by a candle lighting ceremony and moment of silence.

Video Transcript

JOE BIDEN: Each day, I receive a small card in my pocket that I carry with me in my schedule. It shows the number of Americans that have been affected by or died from COVID-19. Today, we mark a truly grim, heartbreaking milestone-- 500,071 dead. That's more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. That's more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth.

But as we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America, remember each person and the life they lived. There are people we knew. There are people we feel like we knew. Read the obituaries and remembrances.