According to reports, the COVID-19 pandemic is the main reason why the average life expectancy of Americans will drop by 18 months in 2020. Report from the National Center for Health StatisticsHealth officials stated that the year of decline from 78.8 years to 77.3 years was the country’s largest decline since World War II, marking Lowest average life expectancy since 2003.

Data show that the coronavirus has caused a nearly 74% decrease in overall life expectancy. Respiratory diseases are a contributing factor for approximately 375,000 (11%) of the 3.3 million deaths in the country in 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Even if we are to vaccinate 100% of the population, I think in terms of life expectancy, we will still return to the very unstable situation we were in in 2019,” said Jennifer Kara, professor of sociology and co-director of the institute Said Jennifer Karas Montez. Syracuse University’s Policy, Local and Population Health Laboratory, Tell us today“We must consolidate our foundation in terms of social, economic and healthcare infrastructure. We must strengthen this so that we can better withstand such things in the future because it will happen again.”

The life expectancy prospects for blacks and Hispanics are even more severe. The life expectancy of African Americans has fallen by 2.9 years (from 74.7 years in 2019 to 71.8 years in 2020). According to NCHS data, the last time the life expectancy gap between white and black populations was so large was in 1999.

The life expectancy of Hispanics is longer than that of white and black Americans, with the largest decline: 3 years (from 81.8 years in 2019 to 78.8 years in 2020).

Part of the reason for these sharp declines is CDC data display Black and Hispanic Americans are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as white Americans. According to the NCHS report, the virus is responsible for 90% of the decline in the life expectancy of Hispanics and 59.3% of the decline in the life expectancy of African Americans.

Lesley Curtis, chair of the Department of Population and Health Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, said: “Seeing these findings, it is impossible not to see a reflection of systemic racism in the United States.” Tell NPR.

According to the NCHS report, drug overdose led to an increase in accidental injury deaths last year.U.S. Report Record overdose deaths of more than 93,000 people In 2020, this is an increase of 29% over 2019. Data show that opioids played a role in overdose in 69,710 of them.

Other factors contributing to the decline in life expectancy include homicide (3.1%), diabetes (2.5%), and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (2.3%), NCHS said.