The coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, causing around 375,000 deaths, or what is the same, 11.3% of the total, according to provisional data published this Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English).
Heart disease and cancer led the list of deaths.
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The pandemic thus raised the number of deaths in 2020 to more than 3.3 million, with an increase in the mortality rate compared to 2019 of 16%, from 715 to 829 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the aforementioned report.
The overall death rate was highest among blacks and natives.
The death rate from COVID-19 was higher among Hispanics
, according to the document.
The top 10 causes of death in 2020 were:
Heart diseases
Cancer
COVID-19
Involuntary injuries
Hits
Chronic lower respiratory disease
Alzheimer's
Diabetes
Influenza and pneumonia
Liver disease
The data showed that heart disease caused 690,882 deaths and cancer caused 598,932 deaths.
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Life expectancy in the country decreased in one year, to 77.8 years, during the first half of 2020, a figure that represents a setback to 2006 levels, according to an interim report published by the National Center for Health Statistics of the CDC in February.
The United States is stepping up its response to the spike in infections in the last two weeks, a rise that has set off all alarms, and while federal authorities call for responsibility, states continue to expand access to vaccines for all adults.
Embalmer and funeral director Kristy Oliver (right) and funeral home attendant Sam Deras load the casket into a hearse of a person who died after contracting COVID-19 in El Cajon, California, on January 15, 2021 Mario Tama / Getty Images
"Seeing the threat accelerating, we have also accelerated the response: we moved forward the universal vaccine date for most Americans by two weeks, increased the supply of vaccines to states, doubled the number of pharmacies and opened more vaccination centers," he said. Tuesday White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
President Joe Biden last Thursday raised his COVID-19 vaccination pledge to 200 million doses injected by April 29, after delivering in advance on his promise to deliver 100 million doses in his first 100 days of mandate (which are fulfilled just that day).
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Biden has asked state authorities to ensure that all adults in the nation can be vaccinated on May 1 and said he is redoubling efforts so that the majority, 90%, have a vaccination center within five miles of their residence on April 19th.
The White House has announced that it will increase the federal supply to administrations to 33 million doses "to meet the needs and the eligibility schedule," it will expand its program of pharmacies that offer them to 40,000 throughout the country and will open a dozen mass vaccination centers.
The United States has more than 30.5 million infections and more than 553,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to data from NBC News, Telemundo's sister network.
More than 96 million people have received the first dose of any of the vaccines and more than 53.4 million (16.1%) are already immunized, according to CDC data.
With information from Efe, CNN and AP.
