United States had 1.5 million excess deaths following COVID-19 pandemic
Excess deaths in the United States have continued to mount following the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an early demise for hundreds of thousands, a new study says.
More than 1.5 million "missing Americans" died in 2022 and 2023, deaths that would have been averted if U.S. death rates matched those of other wealthy nations, researchers reported Friday in JAMA Health Forum.
In fact, nearly 1 of every 2 deaths among people younger than 65 (46%) in 2023 would not have occurred if U.S. death rates mirrored those of peer nations, researchers found.
"The U.S. has been in a protracted health crisis for decades, with health outcomes far worse than other high-income countries," lead researcher Jacob Bor, an associate professor of global health and epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health, said in a news release.
"Imagine the lives saved, the grief and trauma averted, if the U.S. simply performed at the average of our peers," Bor added. "One out of every 2 U.S. deaths under 65 years is likely avoidable. Our failure to address this is a national scandal."
For the study, researchers tracked death record data from the United States and 21 other high-income nations from 1980 to 2023, including more than 107 million U.S. deaths and 230 million deaths among the peer nations.
The other wealthy nations included Australia, Canada, France, Japan and Britain, researchers said.
Overall, the United States had nearly 15 million excess deaths during the four decades in question, when stacking its death rate against that of other wealthy countries, results show.
In 1980, the United States actually outperformed other nations, with 42,000 fewer deaths than might be expected compared to the death rates of peer nations.
But in 1990, the United States had more than 89,000 excess deaths, leaping to nearly 355,000 in 2000 and 409,000 in 2010, results show.
Excess deaths peaked in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 1 million dead in 2020 and nearly 1.1 million in 2021, researchers said.
But excess deaths remained high even after scientists conquered COVID, with more than 820,000 in 2022 and 705,000 in 2023, the study says.
"The 700,000 excess American deaths in 2023 is exactly what you'd predict based on prior rising trends, even if there had never been a pandemic," said researcher Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota.
"These deaths are driven by long-running crises in drug overdose, gun violence, car collisions, and preventable cardiometabolic deaths," she added in a news release.
In 2023, needless excess deaths accounted for nearly 23% of all deaths in America, researchers report.
These excess deaths show how the policies of other peer nations better protect the health of their citizens, senior researcher Andrew Stokes said in a news release.
"Other countries show that investing in universal healthcare, strong safety nets, and evidence-based public health policies leads to longer, healthier lives," said Stokes, an associate professor of global health and epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.
"Unfortunately, the U.S. faces unique challenges; public distrust of government and growing political polarization have made it harder to implement policies that have proven successful elsewhere," he added.
The executive actions and policies enacted under the second Trump administration threaten to drive excess deaths even higher, Bor said.
For example, the U.S. House of Representatives' approved version of legislation containing President Donald Trump's second-term agenda includes potential cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that would make excess deaths even more likely.
"Deep cuts to public health, scientific research, safety net programs, environmental regulations, and federal health data could lead to a further widening of health disparities between the US and other wealthy nations, and growing numbers of excess -- and utterly preventable -- deaths to Americans," Bor said.
More information
KFF has more on U.S. life expectancy compared to other nations.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
a few seconds ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Got the sniffles? Here's what to know about summer colds, COVID-19 and more
Summer heat, outdoor fun ... and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people's minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles — or worse — in the summer. Federal data released Friday, for example, shows COVID-19 is trending up in many parts of the country, with emergency department visits up among people of all ages. Here's what to know about summer viruses. How much are colds and flu circulating right now? The number of people seeking medical care for three key illnesses — COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — is currently low, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu is trending down and RSV was steady this week. But COVID-19 is trending up in many mid-Atlantic, southeast, Southern and West Coast states. The expectation is that COVID-19 will eventually settle into a winter seasonal pattern like other coronaviruses, but the past few years have brought a late summer surge, said Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at University of California Davis Children's Hospital. Other viruses circulating this time of year include the one that causes 'hand, foot and mouth' disease — which has symptoms similar to a cold, plus sores and rashes — and norovirus, sometimes called the stomach flu. Do viruses spread less in the summer? Many viruses circulate seasonally, picking up as the weather cools in the fall and winter. So it's true that fewer people get stuffy noses and coughs in the summer — but cold weather itself does not cause colds. It's not just about seasonality. The other factor is our behavior, experts say. Nice weather means people are opening windows and gathering outside where it's harder for germs to spread. But respiratory viruses are still around. When the weather gets too hot and everyone heads inside for the air conditioning, doctors say they start seeing more sickness. In places where it gets really hot for a long time, summer can be cold season in its own right. 'I grew up on the East Coast and everybody gets sick in the winter,' said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, an emergency room doctor and Arizona State University researcher. 'A lot of people get sick in the summer here. Why is that? Because you spend more time indoors.' Should you get another COVID-19 booster now? For people who are otherwise healthy, timing is a key consideration to getting any vaccine. You want to get it a few weeks before that big trip or wedding, if that's the reason for getting boosted, doctors say. But, for most people, it may be worth waiting until the fall in anticipation of winter cases of COVID-19 really tick up. 'You want to be fully protected at the time that it's most important for you,' said Dr. Costi Sifri, of the University of Virginia Health System. People at higher risk of complications should always talk with their doctor about what is best for them, Sifri added. Older adults and those with weak immune systems may need more boosters than others, he said. Are more younger kids getting sick with COVID-19? Last week, the CDC noted emergency room visits among children younger than 4 were rising. That makes sense, Blumberg said, because many young kids are getting it for the first time or are unvaccinated. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in May that the shots would no longer be recommended for healthy kids, a decision that health experts have said lacks scientific basis. The American Academy of Pediatrics still endorses COVID-19 shots for children older than 6 months. How else can I lower my risk? The same things that help prevent colds, flu and COVID any other time of the year work in the summer, doctors say. Spend time outside when you can, wash your hands, wear a mask. And if you're sick, stay home. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Hamilton Spectator
15 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Got the sniffles? Here's what to know about summer colds, COVID-19 and more
Summer heat, outdoor fun ... and cold and flu symptoms? The three may not go together in many people's minds: partly owing to common myths about germs and partly because many viruses really do have lower activity levels in the summer. But it is possible to get the sniffles — or worse — in the summer. Federal data released Friday , for example, shows COVID-19 is trending up in many parts of the country, with emergency department visits up among people of all ages. Here's what to know about summer viruses. How much are colds and flu circulating right now? The number of people seeking medical care for three key illnesses — COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — is currently low, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu is trending down and RSV was steady this week. But COVID-19 is trending up in many mid-Atlantic, southeast, Southern and West Coast states. The expectation is that COVID-19 will eventually settle into a winter seasonal pattern like other coronaviruses, but the past few years have brought a late summer surge, said Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at University of California Davis Children's Hospital. Other viruses circulating this time of year include the one that causes 'hand, foot and mouth' disease — which has symptoms similar to a cold, plus sores and rashes — and norovirus , sometimes called the stomach flu. Do viruses spread less in the summer? Many viruses circulate seasonally, picking up as the weather cools in the fall and winter. So it's true that fewer people get stuffy noses and coughs in the summer — but cold weather itself does not cause colds. It's not just about seasonality. The other factor is our behavior, experts say. Nice weather means people are opening windows and gathering outside where it's harder for germs to spread. But respiratory viruses are still around. When the weather gets too hot and everyone heads inside for the air conditioning, doctors say they start seeing more sickness. In places where it gets really hot for a long time, summer can be cold season in its own right. 'I grew up on the East Coast and everybody gets sick in the winter,' said Dr. Frank LoVecchio, an emergency room doctor and Arizona State University researcher. 'A lot of people get sick in the summer here. Why is that? Because you spend more time indoors.' Should you get another COVID-19 booster now? For people who are otherwise healthy, timing is a key consideration to getting any vaccine. You want to get it a few weeks before that big trip or wedding, if that's the reason for getting boosted, doctors say. But, for most people, it may be worth waiting until the fall in anticipation of winter cases of COVID-19 really tick up. 'You want to be fully protected at the time that it's most important for you,' said Dr. Costi Sifri, of the University of Virginia Health System. People at higher risk of complications should always talk with their doctor about what is best for them, Sifri added. Older adults and those with weak immune systems may need more boosters than others, he said. Are more younger kids getting sick with COVID-19? Last week, the CDC noted emergency room visits among children younger than 4 were rising. That makes sense, Blumberg said, because many young kids are getting it for the first time or are unvaccinated. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in May that the shots would no longer be recommended for healthy kids, a decision that health experts have said lacks scientific basis. The American Academy of Pediatrics still endorses COVID-19 shots for children older than 6 months. How else can I lower my risk? The same things that help prevent colds, flu and COVID any other time of the year work in the summer, doctors say. Spend time outside when you can, wash your hands, wear a mask. And if you're sick, stay home. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Hamilton Spectator
31 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Israeli fire kills at least 18 in Gaza, and US envoy visits hostage family protest
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hospitals in Gaza reported the killing of more than a dozen people, eight of them food-seekers, by Israeli fire on Saturday as Palestinians endured severe risks searching for food amid airdrops and restrictions on overland aid delivery. Near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site, Yahia Youssef, who had come to seek aid Saturday morning, described a panicked scene now grimly familiar. After helping carry out three people wounded by gunshots, he said he looked around and saw others lying on the ground bleeding. 'It's the same daily episode,' Youssef said. In response to questions about several eyewitness accounts of violence at the northernmost of the Israeli-backed American contractor's four facilities, GHF said 'nothing (happened) at or near our sites.' The episode came a day after U.S. officials visited one site and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the distribution 'an incredible feat.' International outrage has mounted as the group's efforts to deliver aid to hunger-stricken Gaza have been marred by violence and controversy. 'We weren't close to them (the troops) and there was no threat,' Abed Salah, a man in his 30s who was among the crowds close to the GHF site near Netzarim corridor, said. 'I escaped death miraculously.' The danger facing aid seekers in Gaza has compounded what international hunger experts this week called a 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the besieged enclave. Israel's nearly 22-month military offensive against Hamas has shattered security in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians and made it nearly impossible to deliver food safely to starving people. Seven Palestinians died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday. They include a child, it said in a statement, bringing the total deaths among children from causes related to malnutrition in Gaza to 93 since the war began. The ministry said 76 adults in Gaza have also died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. From May 27 to July 31, 859 people were killed near GHF sites, according to a United Nations report published Thursday. Hundreds more have been killed along the routes of food convoys. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. Israel 's military has said it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, though on Friday said it was working to make the routes under its control safer. Israel and GHF have said that the toll has been exaggerated. Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three transported from the vicinity of a distribution site to a central Gaza hospital along with 36 others who were wounded. Officials said 10 of Saturday's casualties were killed by strikes in central and southern Gaza. Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of five people killed in two separate strikes on tents sheltering displaced people. The dead include two brothers and a relative, who were killed when a strike hit their tent close to a main thoroughfare in Khan Younis. The health ministry's ambulance and emergency service said an Israeli strike hit a family house in an area between the towns of Zawaida and Deir al-Balah, killing two parents and their three children. Another strike hit a tent close to the gate of a closed prison where the displaced have sheltered in Khan Younis, killing a mother and her daughter, they said. The hospital said Israeli forces killed five other Palestinians who were among crowds awaiting aid near the newly constructed Morag corridor in Rafah and between Rafah and Khan Younis. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes or deaths near the aid sites. Hostage families push Israel to cut deal In Tel Aviv, families of hostages protested and urged Israel's government to push harder for the release of their loved ones, including those shown in footage released by militant groups earlier this week. U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff joined them, a week after quitting ceasefire talks, blaming Hamas's intransigence and pledging to find other ways to free hostages and make Gaza safe. Of the 251 hostages who were abducted by Hamas-led miltants, around 20 are believed to be alive in Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza, released separate videos of individual hostages this week, triggering outrage among hostage families and Israeli society. Israeli media hasn't broadcast the videos, calling them propaganda, but the family of 21-year-old Rom Braslavski allowed the release of a photograph showing him visibly emaciated in an unknown location. After viewing the video, Tami Braslavski, his mother, blamed top Israeli officials and demanded they meet with her. 'They broke my child, I want him home now,' Braslavski told Ynet on Thursday. 'Look at him: Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out.' Protestors called on Israel's government to make a deal to end the war, imploring them to 'stop this nightmare and bring them out of the tunnels' 'Do the right thing and just do it now,' said Lior Chorev, chief strategy officer of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Airdrops expand despite limited impact Alongside Israel, several European countries announced plans this week to join the Jordan-led coalition orchestrating airdropping parcels, though most acknowledge the strategy remains deeply inadequate. 'If there is political will to allow airdrops — which are highly costly, insufficient & inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings,' Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote on X on Saturday. 'Let's go back to what works & let us do our job.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians , according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. ___ Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
