U.S. had biggest decline in life expectancy in nearly 80 years in 2020
U.S. life expectancy dropped a striking 1.5 years in 2020 — the largest decline since World War II — as a result of the high death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report, which is based on preliminary death data for all of last year, estimated that U.S. life expectancy fell from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.3 years in 2020. That’s the biggest decline in life expectancy in nearly 80 years, since 1942 to 1943, when life expectancy fell 2.9 years, the CDC said. The drop also brings U.S. life expectancy down to the lowest level since 2003, the agency said.
About three-quarters of 2020’s decline in life expectancy can be attributed to deaths from COVID-19, the CDC said, while 11% of the decline is due to increases in accidental deaths, including drug overdoses. Last week, the agency reported that a record 93,000 drug-overdose deaths occurred in 2020, which is a 30% increase compared with 2019, according to The New York Times. [Continue reading…]