The life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row in 2021 for Americans. Falling almost a year from 2020 according to a government report.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, within the first two years, the lifespan for Americans was shortened by almost three years. This also happened in the early 1940's during World War II. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials are blaming COVID for about half the drop in 2021, other things that contributed to the drop were drug overdoses, heart disease, suicide and chronic liver disease.
“It's a dismal situation. It was bad before and it's gotten worse,” said Samuel Preston, a University of Pennsylvania demographer.
The U.S. life expectancy was 78 years, 10 months in 2019. It dropped to 77 years in 2020 and last year, it fell to about 76 years, 1 month. The last time it was as low as 76 was in 1996. Life expectancy for American Indian and Alaskan Native people saw a drop of more than 6 1/2 years since 2020, and is at 65 years. During that same time, life expectancy for Asian Americans dropped by about two years, and stands at 83 1/2 years. The main reason this drop occurred is because of COVID-19.