US life expectancy hits new high as COVID deaths drop
The average U.S. life expectancy has hit a new high, rebounding to numbers similar to those before the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The average life span for Americans rose to 79 in 2024, the CDC said, more than half a year higher than in 2023. The advances came as COVID dropped out of the top 10 causes of death for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.
Leading causes of death
The U.S. recorded 18,000 fewer COVID deaths in 2024 than in 2023, the report said. The virus was replaced in the list of the most common causes of death by suicides.
The other top nine leading causes of death remained the same in 2024, with unintentional injuries topping the list. The others were kidney disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, heart disease, liver disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer and stroke.
COVID and vaccines
The drop in COVID-19 deaths between 2023 and 2024 is unsurprising, as that was the period when public health officials declared the pandemic over and said COVID was now endemic.
Many Americans have been vaccinated and continue to receive the vaccine, which may be reducing deaths. However, whether that trend will continue remains to be seen, especially as more Americans hesitate to get vaccinated.
Since the pandemic, the conversation surrounding vaccines has shifted.
The Department of Health and Human Services has made significant changes to its vaccine policy in the past few months, including reducing the number of recommended vaccines for children.
While many states make their own recommendations, they still use federal recommendations as a baseline.
The CDC announced in October that it no longer universally recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone. Rather, it switched to a case-by-case basis. What sort of effect that may have on the number of COVID cases and deaths remains to be seen.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
