Coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Approximately 375,000 deaths occurred due to COVID-19, the CDC said in their Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), reported NPR.
Heart disease was the top leading cause of death with 690,000 fatalities, while cancer was second with 598,000 deaths linked to the disease.
"In 2020, about 3.3 million deaths occurred in the United States. Overall, this represents a 16 percent increase in deaths from 2019," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Wednesday.
COVID accounted for about 11% of all deaths last year and displaced suicide from one of the top 10 leading causes of death.
“The data should serve again as a catalyst for each of us to continue to do our part to drive down cases and reduce the spread of COVID-19 and get people vaccinated as quickly as possible,” Walensky added.
Related
For the report, the CDC looked at death certificate data for fatalities among U.S. citizens between January-December 2020.
“Overall death rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black persons and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native persons,” the MMWR noted. “COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death, and the COVID-19 death rate was highest among Hispanics.”
Earlier this week, the CDC released a real world study that found both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines reduced the risk of infection by 80% two weeks after the first dose, and by 90% two weeks after the second dose.
LISTEN NOW on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram