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Remembering the 1 million Americans lost to COVID

A man whose mother died from COVID photographs a COVID Memorial Project installation of 20,000 American flags on the National Mall when the U.S. marked 200,000 lives lost in the COVID-19 pandemic in September of 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A man whose mother died from COVID photographs a COVID Memorial Project installation of 20,000 American flags on the National Mall when the U.S. marked 200,000 lives lost in the COVID-19 pandemic in September of 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

One million dead from COVID-19. The U.S. is fast approaching that grim milestone.

Millions of Americans are figuring out what life looks like without someone they love — a mother, father, sister, brother, friend.

How can we collectively mark this milestone?

“As a nation, to pause, as a nation, to turn toward some collective location, should it be a physical memorial, is a moment of profound unity and recommitment,” history professor Micki McElya says.

Today, On Point: Remembering the one million lost to COVID-19.

Guests

Micki McElya, professor of history at the University of Connecticut. Author of The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery.

Marisa Renee Lee, writer, speaker and entrepreneur. Author of Grief is Love: Living with Loss. (@MarisaReneeLee)

Also Featured

Barry Joseph, who lost his father to COVID.

Medinah Hagan-Morgan, who lost her husband to COVID.

Related Reading

The Atlantic: “Grief, Everywhere” — “On February 28, 2008, my mother collapsed in my arms and had a seizure in my childhood home. As I laid her body on the floor, I knew it was over. She was officially pronounced dead a few hours later. My mom had Stage 4 breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. On that day in February, her diseases won, and I found myself lost.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.