Covid Pandemic Has Cost U.S. 3.9 Million ‘Years Of Life’ In Past Year, Study Finds

Topline

After a year of the coronavirus pandemic, the death toll in the U.S. amounts to a total of around 3.9 million years of life lost, according to a new study.

The pandemic has caused millions of years of life to be lost among U.S. victims, a study suggests.

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Key Facts

Researchers estimated those who died would have lived at least another nine years on average, leading to the total years of life lost.

Most of the loss came in the past few months amid a surge in the disease across the United States.

The worst-hit area in both deaths per capita and years lost is New York City, which was devastated in the initial stages of the pandemic last spring, with the study finding 298.1 years of life have been lost per 10,000 people in New York City.

Vermont has fared the best of any state with only 12 years of life lost per 10,000 people.

Nine states had an average of at least 10 years of life lost per death, indicating those states had more deaths among younger populations: Mississippi, Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Georgia and California.

The research reviewed a data period from Jan. 1, 2020-Jan. 31, 2021, with the first known U.S. Covid death coming on Feb. 6, 2020.

Crucial Quote

“We hope that our research provides context into the damage inflicted by COVID-19 beyond reporting the number who died of the disease,” Dr. Troy Quast, a professor at the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, told Forbes.

Big Number

525,312. That's how many Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the U.S. as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Key Background

The numbers are an update of a study Quast and other researchers published in September, at which point around 2 million years of life may have been lost. Quast noted while the number has increased significantly in the past few months, the average years of life lost per death "was relatively unchanged," suggesting the share of deaths among the age groups most susceptible to Covid has remained the same.

What To Watch For

Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been on a sharp decline in the U.S., but officials are advising against lifting restrictions. That recommendation hasn't stopped several states from doing so, including some that have lifted mask mandates.

Surprising Fact

For the first time since October, the U.S. is no longer leading the world in new Covid cases. That morbid distinction now goes to Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has told residents to stop "whining" about the spike in cases. Vaccination efforts have continued to ramp up, with 9.4% of the U.S. population now fully vaccinated, according to a Bloomberg tracker.

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