Life expectancy falling in U.S.: report

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The average life expectancy in the United States has dropped by nearly two years, marking a change from the stability of pre-pandemic years, reported Yahoo!News on Wednesday, citing the latest National Vital Statistics Report.

Compared to the national average life expectancy in 2019, the 2020 figure dropped by 1.8 years, a significant jump from much smaller and sometimes positive changes in years prior. As of 2020, the average American is expected to live 77 years from birth.

"The decline in life expectancy can be attributed to deaths due to COVID-19 and accidental drug overdoses," the report authors were quoted as saying.

Of all 50 states, New York experienced the biggest change to its average life expectancy in 2020. The Empire State used to have one of the highest average life expectancy predictions in the country, but the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York especially hard. The state's average life expectancy dropped three years, from 80.7 in 2019 to 77.7 in 2020.

Life expectancy decreased in most developed countries during the pandemic, according to a separate report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. "Although the United States is not alone in this trend, Americans still have the lowest life expectancies among developed countries," said the report.