US life expectancy dropped a full year in the first part of 2020, an effect of the skyrocketing fatalities due to the spread of the coronavirus across the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ABC News reports.
In the first half of 2020, life expectancy in the United States dropped to 77.8 years, its lowest level since 2006. That’s down from 78.8 years in 2019.
Black Americans lost 2.9 years in average life expectancy to 72 years; Hispanics saw their life expectancy fall 1.9 years to 79.9 years. White Americans also saw a decline of only 0.8 years, to 78.0 years. Men’s life expectancy dropped more than a year, from 76.3 to 75.1, while women dropped less than a year from 81.4 to 80.5.