But the decline, though unusual, was small – measured in small fractions of a year. Researchers knew there would be a decline last year, but the enormous scale in the first six months made them falter: the decline has brought life expectancy to its lowest level since 2006. The last major decline was 2.9 years between 1942 and 1943, to the United States. States entered World War II, Dr. Arias said.
According to researchers, Thursday’s numbers are important because they are a number of the magnitude of the current coronavirus crisis. They may not represent a trend that will continue in the future, but they do speak volumes about the scale of the suffering that many American communities are experiencing today, such as the Brightmoor area of Detroit, where Rev. Semmeal Thomas (60) is pastor. of the City Covenant Church, helped his congregation find sorrow.
According to him, about 10 people died of Covid-19, including his 40-year-old niece, who had just been married and was working on her doctorate, and the wife of his good friend, who was in her 60s. A number of middle-aged people in his church have also died. Some already had conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, but they managed it.
“If Covid had not come, Ruthie Harris would still be here, Jackie would still be here, Michael would still be here, Taisha would still be here,” he said. “It gave us in the African-American community this great feeling of sadness.”
Covid-19 hit Black and Hispanic Americans harder than white Americans. People in the first two groups who died from the virus were also more likely to be younger and cut the life expectancy figures deeper, said dr. Bassett said. She said the coronavirus mortality rate for black people between the ages of 35 and 44, for example, was nine times greater than for white people in the same age group, according to data from last February to July.
Overall, the death rate for black Americans with Covid-19 was nearly twice as high as for white Americans by the end of January, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; the death rate for Hispanics was 2.3 times higher than for white Americans.
The 2.7-year decline in life expectancy for African Americans from January to June last year was the largest decline, followed by a 1.9-year decline for Hispanic Americans and a 0.8-year decline for white Americans. .