For two consecutive years, COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in the United States: 13.3%, second only to heart disease and cancer!
According to the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in the United States for the second consecutive year, after heart disease and cancer. From the data, more than 1 in every 8 deaths in the United States in 2021 is caused by COVID-19, up from about 1 in 10 deaths in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has also caused a sharp drop in life expectancy in the United States. According to a report written by public health experts in Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C., in April, life expectancy for the entire U.S. population was 78.86 years in 2019, 76.99 years in 2020, and 76.6 years in 2021. This is a rare decline in U.S. history.
In other words, the new crown was popular in the United States for 2 years, which reduced life expectancy in the United States by 2.26 years. Available data show that the largest overall decline in life expectancy in the United States occurred in 1943 (a 2.9-year decline), when the number of deaths in the United States peaked in World War II.
The CDC states that if COVID-19 is the cause of death on the death certificate, it will be counted as a death due to COVID-19. If COVID-19 is not the cause or contributing to the death, it is not reported on the death certificate.
These provisional data are based on data on death certificates received but have not been fully reviewed by the National Centre for Health Statistics, and final annual mortality data are usually published 11 months after the end of the year. However, the report emphasizes that the interim death estimates provide an early indication of changes in mortality trends and can guide public health policies and interventions aimed at reducing mortality directly or indirectly related to the pandemic and those most affected.
The latest report outlines data on the temporary U.S. mortality rate in 2021, including a comparison of the 2020 and 2021 mortality rates. In 2021, about 3458697 people will die in the United States. From 2020 to 2021, the overall age-adjusted death rate in the United States increased by 0.7 percent, from 835.4 to 841.6 per 100,000 standard population. The week of January 16, 2021 and the week of September 11, 2021, the number of deaths peaked at 87,222 and 73,466, respectively, which were also the two months with the highest number of deaths.
Of all the deaths mentioned above, COVID-19 is reported to be the underlying or contributing cause to approximately 460513 (13.3%) of them, i.e. 111.4 deaths per 100,000 people from COVID-19. That's higher than the 384536 deaths in 2020, with 93.2 deaths per 100,000 people dying from COVID-19.
In 2021, the U.S. COVID-19 mortality rate was lowest among 1-4 years of age (0.4 per 100,000 people) and 5-14 years (0.4 per 100,000 people), and highest among people aged 85 years and older (1395.7 per 100,000 people). However, while overall mortality and COVID-19 mortality rates are still higher in all other age groups, mortality rates in this age group declined between 2020 and 2021.
It is worth noting that from 2020 to 2021, COVID-19 mortality rates will increase in all age groups except those aged 85 and older. As with the overall number of deaths, in 2021, age-adjusted COVID-19-related mortality rates were higher among men (140.0 per 100,000 people) than women (87.7 per 100,000 population).
In terms of racial and ethnic divisions, the overall mortality rate is highest among non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaskan Natives and non-Hispanic blacks or African Americans.
Overall, COVID-19 is the third leading underlying cause of death in the U.S. in 2021 after heart disease (693021 deaths) and cancer (604553 deaths), the report said. COVID-19 was the underlying cause of 13.3% of deaths in 2021, up from 10.4% in 2020 (350831 deaths).
In terms of other causes of death, accidental injuries were the fourth leading cause of death in 2020 and 2021, increasing from 200955 in 2020 to 219487 in 2021. In addition, from 2020 to 2021, the ranking of the other major causes of death will remain unchanged except for kidney disease, influenza and pneumonia. Kidney disease rose from tenth to ninth, resulting in 52,547 deaths in 2020 and 54,236 deaths in 2021. Influenza and pneumonia were the 9th leading cause of death in 2020 (53,544 deaths) and fell beyond the 10 leading causes of death (41,835 deaths) in 2021. Suicide is not one of the top ten causes of death in 2020, but it is the tenth leading cause of death in 2021, with 47,458 deaths (45,979 deaths in 2020).
The report concludes that the 2021 death rate was the highest since 2003, with increases in many of the leading causes of death, including COVID-19 and accidental injuries. While the mortality rate for people aged 85 and older has declined, the death rate for people under 75 has risen sharply from 2020 to 2021. Among them, deaths from accidental injuries are mainly caused by drug overdose and may be responsible for the increase in mortality among young people.
The CDC said the latest reporting results highlight the need for greater efforts to implement effective interventions. We must work to ensure that all communities are treated equally to prevent COVID-19 from causing too many deaths.