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accomplishments and breathtaking successes, as well as a long, dismal string of missteps and failures, according to an article published on the website of U.S. think tank Niskanen Center.

"The overall U.S. pandemic response must be judged a shocking and dispiriting failure," the article said, noting that in May 2022, 16 months into the pandemic, the U.S. confirmed death toll passed 1 million, and six-figure annual death tolls now look likely going forward for the foreseeable future.

The U.S. cumulative COVID mortality rate as of Aug. 31, 2022 -- 310 deaths per 100,000 people -- was the highest of any advanced democracy, the article said.

There are two major reasons why COVID-19 was so much deadlier in the United States than in most peer countries, it said. First, American authorities proved incapable of standing up and executing testing at sufficient scale -- that is, to enable effective public health screening along with follow-up contact tracing and coordination and support for isolation of the sick and exposed.

"The second reason is that, despite developing the two most effective vaccines and getting a big jump on most of the world in vaccine distribution, the United States ended up achieving considerably lower vaccination rates than other advanced countries," it added.