Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that for now, the life expectancy in the U.S was of 78.7 years in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all countries in the world, and the CDC also measured how much it influenced things in the U.S. A new report showed that the life expectancy in the U.S decreased by 1.5 years last year, and the average was of just 77.3 years.
How much did the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to the low life expectancy rate?
According to specialists cited in several sources, the COVID-19 deaths were responsible for 73.8% of last year’s decline. The numbers analyzed were the official death and birth records from 2020. Women always had a higher life expectancy, but in 2019, it was of 81.4 years. In 2020, it dropped to 80.2 years. For men, life expectancy is even shorter. In 2019, it was 76.3 %, and then it dropped last year to 74.5 %. The National Center for Health Statistics report also shows that there are racial differences in life expectancy. The graphic shows that Hispanic people were the ones most affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The lowest life expectancy rate since 2003
The data mentioned in the CDC report also shows that the life expectancy rate has been the lowest since 2003, and it is not reversible. In addition, the mortality rates caused by SARS-CoV-2 infections have been the major factor and contributed to its decrease by 90% for the Hispanic population. The life expectancy age is the same as it was in the U.S during the Second World War, and it will be hard to improve things to what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also hard for statisticians to determine what the life expectancy rate will be next year.
