According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, COVID-19 was third in death among Americans for the second consecutive year.
The report revealed that covid was the cause of over 415,000 deaths in 2021. This is 13% of the total national death toll. This is an increase of 10% from 2020. The COVID-19 death rates per capita increased in 2021 for all age groups except 85 and older.
Both 2020 and 2021 saw heart disease (causing 693,000 deaths last year) and cancer (causing 605,000 deaths in 2021. However, the data is still provisional and could change as more information is collected by the CDC. COVID-19 doesn’t include 45,000 deaths where the coronavirus played a role.
The U.S. had its highest age-adjusted mortality rate since 2003. There were nearly 842 deaths per 100 000 people last year — a slight rise from 2020. A preliminary analysis that has not been peer-reviewed yet found that the country’s expected life expectancy fell further in 2021 after a two-year decline in 2020.
Flu and pneumonia were the ninth most common causes of death in 2020. However, they fell out of the top ten in 2021. Suicide rose to the top 10 most common causes of death in 2018, from the 12th year.
According to the CDC report, COVID-19 deaths rates in 2021 were highest for older Americans, men and Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and American Indian populations. However, the COVID-19 deaths rates have declined year over year among Asian, Black, and Hispanic people.
From 56,000 Black Americans dying from COVID-19 in 2020, to 55,000 in 2021, the total number of Black Americans suffering from COVID-19 has fallen. COVID-19 deaths among whites rose from 209,000 to 268,000.
According to a second CDC study, overall, racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths rates adjusted for age decreased from 2020 to 2021. The report compared death rates for different groups to those of multiracial individuals, who had the lowest rate both in 2020 and 2021. The gap between all groups, except Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders, decreased in 2021.
Researchers attributed the change to the widespread effectiveness of vaccines and other effective interventions.
