For the time being, the rate of new COVID-19 mortality is still only a small portion of the fall and winter waves from the previous year. However, life expectancy has suffered the largest decline in 100 years.
According to a recent federal assessment, estimates of American life expectancy have dropped to their lowest points since 1996. This is the second year in a row that estimates have plummeted precipitously as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to preliminary estimates released by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials claim that the downturn in life expectancy from 2019 to 2021—falling by 2.7 years to 76.1—is now the nation's worst two-year decline on record since 1923.
"The declines in life expectancy since 2019 are largely driven by the pandemic," the agency said in a news release. "COVID-19 deaths contributed to nearly three-fourths, or 74%, of the decline from 2019 to 2020, and 50% o...