New study finds U.S. life expectancy continues to decline

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – According to a new report, the average lifespan for the country’s population continues to decline, wiping out decades of progress. 

Researchers at the University of Colorado and Virginia Commonwealth University obtained and analyzed data using the National Center for Health Statistics.

Scientists looked at life expectancy in the population in its entirety, and found it decreased from 2020 to 2021 by 4 years.

The study has been ongoing and is the first to reveal a significant drop in U.S. lifespan between 2019 and 2021. 

When assessing drop in life expectancy from 2019 to 2021, scientists saw a staggering 2.26 year decline going from 78.86 years to 76.60, a historic low not seen since 1943 in World War II.

Scientists attribute this sharp decline to the coronavirus pandemic which is responsible for nearly 1 million deaths over the past two years to date. 

Deaths, authors say, occurred mostly in unvaccinated people. Their theory is that a level of resistance to vaccination and the public’s rejection of practices such as masking mandates contributed to this decline in the U.S. life expectancy.