COVID to be leading cause of death in U.S. indefinitely: media

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Disease experts predict that COVID will remain among the top 10 causes of death in the United States for the foreseeable future, said a report of NBC News.

After U.S. President Joe Biden said the coronavirus pandemic was "over" in an interview Sunday, many people were left wondering how to reconcile his comment with the fact that the country is still averaging about 500 COVID deaths every day, said the report published on Monday.

Disease experts said debating whether the pandemic is over overshadows a more important concern: the reality that COVID will remain a leading cause of death in the United States indefinitely, said the report.

COVID was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, after heart disease and cancer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts said COVID is likely to remain among the 10 leading causes of death in the country for the foreseeable future, regardless of new vaccines, boosters or treatments that might become available, said the report.