Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - A VCU study found life expectancy dropped 1.87 years between 2018 and 2020, as a result of Covid. The drop is the largest since World War II. Steven Woolf, M.D. calls the decline "massive."
The drops are even larger when broken out by race. Blacks saw life expectancy decrease by 3.25. Hispanics saw their life expectancy drop by nearly four years. Both groups were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Woolf blames governance for the decline. "Many lives were lost because so many decisions were driven by politics and ideology. COVID-19 exposed a lot of the systemic problems that have been fueling the long-term decline in the health of Americans," says Woolf. U.S. life expectancy had decreased previously in the last decade, but only about a tenth of a year.