U.S. continues to see life expectancy drop: USA Today

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States continued to see its life expectancy in free fall in 2021, reported USA Today recently.

The report, quoting a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior, said that most countries worldwide experienced a shocking decline in life expectancy in 2020 as COVID-19 wreaked havoc on society.

However, as some countries showed signs of recovery, the U.S. reported the third-largest decline in life expectancy last year, followed closely behind Bulgaria and Slovakia.

The study suggests vaccine uptake may be partly to blame. Researchers analyzed the proportion of the fully vaccinated population as of October 2021 and found reduced life expectancy was associated with lower vaccination uptake, the report said.