New data in the United States show a disproportionate drop in American life expectancy: while for whites this figure fell by 1.2 years, for Hispanics and blacks, this figure was 3 and 2.9 years, respectively, writes The New York Times. As the newspaper notes, this is largely due to the fact that these groups of the population are more vulnerable, as they more often work in crowded places, use public transport and live in more cramped conditions.
The new federal data on American life expectancy is one of the most striking pictures of the disproportionate impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on Hispanics and blacks in the United States. These data indicate that in 2020, life expectancy for these populations fell much more than for white Americans, writes The New York Times.
In general, life expectancy in the United States has decreased by one and a half years, which is largely due to the pandemic, which killed more than 600 thousand Americans. At the same time, we are talking about the sharpest decline in this indicator in the United States since the Second World War.
However, in the period from 2019 to 2020, Hispanics (life expectancy decreased by 3 years) and blacks (2.9 years) were the most affected in this regard. Meanwhile, life expectancy for white Americans fell by only 1.2 years.
“The coronavirus has exposed deep racial and ethnic inequalities in access to health care, and I don’t think we have ever been able to solve this problem,” said Dr. Mary Bassett, professor of health and human rights at Harvard University.
“Thinking that everything will just take over and go back to normal is a bit like trying to pass on wishful thinking.”
These statistics are just a snapshot of the data that allows one to judge the general health of the population at the moment: if American children born today spent their entire lives in the conditions of 2020, their average life expectancy would be 77.3 years, compared to 78.8 years in 2019. That being said, the last time this figure was so low in the United States was in 2003.
Racial and ethnic inequalities have been observed throughout the pandemic, reflecting many factors, including different general health conditions for different populations, and different access to health care among whites, Hispanics and blacks. In addition, during a pandemic, blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to work in crowded areas; among them there are many bus drivers, restaurant chefs and unskilled health workers, while whites are more likely to work with laptops in their homes. These vulnerable populations are also more likely to use public transport and live in more cramped conditions, contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.
Still, the dramatic drop in life expectancy in 2020, driven mainly by COVID-19, is unlikely to last long. In 1918, the Spanish flu pandemic reduced the life expectancy of Americans by 11.8 years, but the next year the numbers returned to their previous values. However, Elizabeth Arias – one of the authors of the report – believes that life expectancy is unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels anytime soon.
According to her, for a rebound to the indicators of 2019, “the absence of excess mortality due to COVID is required, and in 2021 this is no longer possible.” “If it was just a pandemic, and we could curb it and reduce excess mortality, then we could play back this drop somewhat,” Arias said. However, people may also continue to die because they were unable to visit a doctor regularly for non-pandemic consultations.
“Perhaps we will observe the indirect consequences of the pandemic for some time,” she said.