Skip to main content

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.

Subscribe Follow Us Donate
  • Trump 2.0

    Trump 2.0

    • Agency Watch
    • State Watch
    • Rural Health Payout
  • Public Health

    Public Health

    • Vaccines
    • CDC & Disease
    • Environmental Health
  • Audio Reports

    Audio Reports

    • What the Health?
    • Health Care Helpline
    • KFF Health News Minute
    • An Arm and a Leg
    • Health Hub
    • HealthQ
    • Silence in Sikeston
    • Epidemic
    • See All Audio
  • Special Reports

    Special Reports

    • Bill Of The Month
    • The Body Shops
    • Broken Rehab
    • Deadly Denials
    • Priced Out
    • Dead Zone
    • Diagnosis: Debt
    • Overpayment Outrage
    • Opioid Settlement Tracking
    • See All Special Reports
  • More Topics

    More Topics

    • Elections
    • Health Care Costs
    • Insurance
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Health Industry
    • Immigration
    • Reproductive Health
    • Technology
    • Rural Health
    • Race and Health
    • Aging
    • Mental Health
    • Affordable Care Act
    • Medicare
    • Medicaid
    • Children’s Health

  • Surgeon General
  • Cigna’s ACA Exit
  • Visa Program
  • Medicaid Work Requirements
  • Gavin Newsom

TRENDING TOPICS:

  • Surgeon General
  • Cigna's ACA Exit
  • Visa Program
  • Medicaid Work Requirements
  • Gavin Newsom

Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

  • Email

Monday, Aug 17 2020

Full Issue

170,000 People In US Have Died From COVID-19

As the nation passes that tragic mark -- with a lack of collective mourning that could be damaging, mental health experts say -- new confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit the lowest daily level since June.

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 170,000

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic passed 170,000, while the number of new cases declined, reaching the lowest daily level since June 29. The U.S. reported just over 42,000 new cases for Sunday, a sharp drop from Friday’s total of more than 64,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The nation’s total number of cases surpassed 5.4 million, about a quarter of the world-wide figure. (Hall, 8/17)

CNN: Few Signs Of Collective Mourning As The US Tops 170,000 Coronavirus Deaths

Days after thousands of lives perished on 9/11, the United States marked a national day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of the worst terrorist attack in the nation's history... Nearly two decades later, in the midst of another national tragedy that has the US surpassing 170,000 deaths from Covid-19, there have been few signs of collective mourning among Americans. (Sanchez, 8/16)

CNN: More Than 1,000 People In The US Have Died Of Coronavirus Nearly Every Day This Month 

The Covid-19 death toll in the United States has soared to more than 170,000, just 18 days after the nation marked 150,000 lives lost. As cases have increased in the US, the lull between grim milestones has grown shorter. It took 54 days for the number of people killed by the virus to go from one to 50,000, and then 34 days to cross 100,000 mark on May 27. Now, more than 5.4 million people have been infected and 170,052 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Holcombe, 8/17)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
Newsletter icon

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Stay informed by signing up for the Morning Briefing and other emails:

Recent Morning Briefings

  • Friday, May 1
  • Thursday, April 30
  • Wednesday, April 29
  • Tuesday, April 28
  • Monday, April 27
  • Friday, April 24
More Morning Briefings
RSS Feeds
  • Podcasts
  • Special Reports
  • Morning Briefing
  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Staff
  • Republish Our Content
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Bluesky
  • TikTok
  • RSS

Sign up for emails

Join our email list for regular updates based on your personal preferences.

Sign up
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2026 KFF