Old age happens to all of us. How old we live depends on many factors.

Yes, the pandemic lowered the life expectancy in the United States. The latest Human Mortality Database (https://www.mortality.org/) shows a decrease in life expectancy of nearly two years for those born in 2020.

https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1343 shows a good graphic of the decline in life expectancy demographically.

Life Expectancy Update

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/u-s-life-expectancy-decreased-alarming-amount-during-pandemic-n1272206. The National Center for Health Statistics is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Everyone expected that the pandemic virus would lower the lifespan, especially those over 60 years of age. However, the best estimate was published recently in The BMJ.

No Surprise!

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/covid19-changed-life-expectancy. The United States typically experiences around three million deaths annually. Over one-half million deaths were attributed to the pandemic. In 2019, the life expectancy in the United States was almost 79 years. Today, it is nearly 77 years.

Deaths during the pandemic were confusing at times. A death during the pandemic was attributed to coronavirus when the deceased tested positive for coronavirus.

We heard many cases of a motorcycle accident (or similar event), and the person died of injury sustained in that event, and the death was listed as a COVID-19 death. When challenged on national television, the CDC stated that it was policy to include all deaths as COVID-19 when the person tested positive for the virus.

Yet, many hospitals restricted required and elective surgeries. As a result, doctors were unable to treat many of their patients. As a result, many deaths happened that could have been prevented with proper medical care.

Conclusion

For fifty years after World War II, the life expectancy in the United States climbed. The pace of growth slowed a bit after the mid-90s but still incrementally rose until around 2010 and became static.

It will be several years before the full impact of the pandemic and related statistics will be reconciled. The pandemic definitely lowered the life expectancy in the United States and around the world.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com

 

 

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