US life expectancy declined even more than previously thought in 2020

• The CDC released new data on US life expectancy on Wednesday.
• The data showed life expectancy in 2020 was 77 years, down from 78.8 in 2019.
• The CDC previously estimated that life expectancy for 2020 would be 77.3 years.

Life expectancy in the United States declined by 1.8 years in 2020, which is even more than preliminary estimates showed earlier this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics released new data on life expectancy in the US on Wednesday, showing that life expectancy in 2020 was 77 years, down from 78.8 in 2019.

A report from the NCHS in July estimated life expectancy would be 77.3 years for 2020.

COVID-19 was the third-leading underlying cause of death in the US in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer, the NCHS said in its new report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.