Coronavirus, Overdoses, Homicides: Life Expectancy in U.S. Drops by 1.5 Years

KRISTINA WONG

U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020 due mostly to the coronavirus pandemic, but drug overdoses and rising homicides played a role as well, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released Wednesday.

The 1.5-year decline in life expectancy in the U.S. was the largest one-year decline since World War II, according to the report. Close to 74 percent of the overall decline was due to the pandemic.

Drug overdoses also pushed life expectancy down, particularly for white Americans, according to the report, while rising homicides were a “small but significant reason” for the decline amongst black Americans, the report’s lead author, Elizabeth Arias, said.

The pandemic took the greatest toll on Hispanics, responsible for 90 percent of the decline in life expectancy. The coronavirus was responsible for a 68 percent decline among white Americans and a 59 percent decline among black Americans.

More than 80 percent of last year’s coronavirus deaths were people 65 and older, the CDC data shows.

However, one New York Times senior writer argued that life expectancy has been dropping for some years, even before the pandemic.

David Leonhardt tweeted that increases in mortality are concentrated among working-class Americans, especially those without a four-year degree.