Nearly a year after Covid-19 vaccines were first administered in the United States, the country is returning to many of the hallmarks that defined earlier pandemic life: mask mandates, mass vaccination sites, crowded hospitals and a rising death toll.

More than 200 million people — more than 60per cent of the US population — have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite that triumph of modern science, the country's death toll continues to mount. Since the first dose was administered, nearly 500,000 more people have died of Covid-19, with the country expected to cross the 800,000 mark next week, according to a Reuters tally.

Both infections — approaching 50 million since the start of the pandemic — and deaths have been rising in recent weeks, especially as colder weather in northern states pushes activities indoors, allowing for easier virus transmission.