<em>The Atlantic Daily: </em>Why the U.S. Stopped Caring About COVID-19 Deaths

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200,000 dead. And it felt like any other Tuesday.

Today, the United States marked the official passing of that milestone (though in truth, it likely happened earlier).

We’re pausing to reflect, both on what led up to this moment—and on the grief that undergirds it:

These losses represent a deep failure of empathy.

“Part of the reason this majority-white, majority-non-elderly country has been so blasé about COVID-19 deaths is that mostly Black people and old people are dying,” Olga Khazan reports.

Americans are left grieving in distinctly new ways.

Back in May, Joe Pinsker spoke with six experts on mourning. “Grief can be a really isolating experience, and that has been very much magnified during the pandemic,” one told him.

Here’s some advice on processing loss from our Dear Therapist columnist.

When Lori Gottlieb lost her father this spring, she wrote a letter, advising herself on how to understand her own grief. It’s worth revisiting today.

One question, answered: What does COVID-19 do to the human heart?