Covid Helps Plunge Life Expectancy 1.8 Yrs In 2020
WSJ reports life expectancy in US plunged 1.8 yrs in 2020 while nation’s population growth rate of 0.1% was record low thanks to Covid-19. The latest numbers from the CDC on life expectancy were especially shocking in that they “show a deeper than previously reported decline last yr as the Covid pandemic took hold.”
According to the new and “final” federal numbers, “Americans’ life expectancy fell to 77 years… 0.3 years more than that of provisional estimates released in July 2021 and remains the biggest life expectancy decline since at least WWII. Dr. Elizabeth Arias, an author of the new CDC report explained the CDC’s new numbers incorporated Medicare data that “more accurately captures mortality” among older Americans.
“I knew there was going to be a decline, but I didn’t expect it to be this large,” Dr. Arias said after having to check & re-check her numbers several times. “For some groups, life expectancy declined three years or more.” As a result, WSJ concluded, “Covid-19 was the nation’s third leading cause of death last year, behind heart disease and cancer and was the underlying cause in about 351,000 deaths.” Meanwhile, deaths from drug overdosing also hit a dubious new record…
Davd Soul
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