This was the deadliest year in US history, with an unprecedented number of more than 3 million deaths, mainly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that killed nearly 320,000 Americans.
Final death figures for this year won’t be available for months, but preliminary data indicates the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year – at least 400,000 more than in 2019.
Deaths in the United States are increasing every year, so an annual increase is always expected, but the numbers for 2020 mean an increase from year to year of about 15% or more.
Viewed as a percentage increase, it would be the largest jump in a year since 1918, when tens of thousands of American soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands more died from an influenza pandemic. The number of deaths increased by 46% that year, compared to 1917.
The nation’s overall death rate has declined somewhat in 2019 due to a decline in deaths from heart disease and cancer.
In addition, life expectancy rose by several weeks for the second year in a row last year, according to death certificate data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC for the acronym in English).
Meanwhile, deaths from drug overdose got much worse.
Even before the coronavirus hit, the United States was in the middle of the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in its history.
Data for all of 2020 is not yet available, but last week the CDC reported more than 81,000 overdose deaths in the 12 months ending in May – the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period.
Experts believe that one factor may have been the disruption of personal treatment and recovery services from the pandemic. It is also more likely that more people have used drugs alone, without the benefit of a friend or family member who could help them reverse an overdose.