WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is a "reflection of a failing national response," top infectious disease expert Tom Frieden has said.

"The actual number is higher because not all deaths have been identified and this is just a horrifying number," the former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted by CNN as saying Wednesday.

Comparing the U.S. death toll and mortality rate with those of Germany and South Korea, Frieden told CNN that "these are lives that have been lost and jobs that have been lost because we haven't had an organized, consistent, coherent federal response."

"It's more people than die from suicide or overdose or homicide or HIV. In fact, COVID is on track to be the number three leading cause of death in all of the U.S. for this year," Frieden said.

The expert added he is concerned that Americans will get "hardened" to the death toll, according to CNN.

As of Friday, the United States has reported at least 198,570 COVID-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.