The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mortality rates in the United States compared to other wealthy nations. A recent analysis suggests that more than two million Americans were “missing” from the population in 2020 and 2021, indicating that they would still be alive if the US had the same death rate as other high-income countries.
Lead author and epidemiologist Jacob Bor from Boston University highlighted the potential lives that could have been saved if the US had performed at the average level of its peers. The analysis compared over 107 million deaths in the US between 1980 and 2023 to death rates in 21 other wealthy nations, revealing that the US experienced 14.7 million excess deaths relative to its counterparts, with a notable increase starting in 2020.
The study also pointed out that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, health outcomes in the US were gradually declining compared to the rest of the world. The spread of the novel coronavirus in 2020 exacerbated this trend, leading to a significant rise in excess deaths.
While not all excess deaths are directly linked to COVID-19, the pandemic certainly played a role in worsening the situation. Sociologist Elizabeth Wrigley-Field from the University of Minnesota noted that the increase in deaths from 2019 to 2023 was also driven by ongoing issues such as drug overdose, gun violence, car collisions, and preventable cardiometabolic deaths.
The researchers emphasized that nearly a quarter of all deaths in 2023 could have been avoided if the US had similar mortality rates as other nations, particularly among younger individuals. Senior author Andrew Stokes from Boston University highlighted the importance of investing in universal healthcare, strong safety nets, and evidence-based public health policies to improve overall health outcomes.
The findings underscore the need for addressing policy neglect and systemic failures in the healthcare and social support systems to prevent premature deaths. The research letter was published in JAMA Health Forum, shedding light on the structural weaknesses that have contributed to the persisting disparities in mortality rates in the US.
