2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 3.47 million deaths last year. That number is about 80,000 more than 2020′s record-setting total. 
During the third wave of the pandemic in the U.S., the death rate in the poorest counties was 4.5 times than that of the richest counties. 

In this episode of BizBeat, CGTN's Michelle Van den Bergh noted the U.S. government has deliberately ignored the rights of the poor and minorities. The COVID-19 pandemic didn't discriminate, but society and the government did.