CDC: COVID-19 Was Third Leading Cause Of Death In 2020, People Of Color Hit Hardest

[Mary Wilson]

Updated March 31, 20212:29 PM ET
RACHEL TREISMAN

COVID-19 was the third underlying cause of death in 2020 after heart disease and cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Wednesday.

A pair of reports published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report sheds new light on the approximately 375,000 U.S. deaths attributed to COVID-19 last year, and highlights the pandemic's disproportionate impact on communities of color ? a point CDC Director Rochelle Walensky emphasized at a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Wednesday. ...

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/31/983058109/cdc-covid-19-was-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-2020-people-of-color-hit-hardes

[Mary Wilson]

Provisional Mortality Data ? United States, 2020

Early Release / March 31, 2021 / 70
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7014e1
Farida B. Ahmad, MPH¹; Jodi A. Cisewski, MPH¹; Arialdi Mini?o, MPH¹; Robert N. Anderson, PhD¹

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused approximately 375,000 deaths in the United States during 2020.

What is added by this report?

The age-adjusted death rate increased by 15.9% in 2020. Overall death rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black persons and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native persons. COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death, and the COVID-19 death rate was highest among Hispanics.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Provisional death estimates provide an early indication of shifts in mortality trends. Timely and actionable data can guide public health policies and interventions for populations experiencing higher numbers of deaths that are directly or indirectly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

^{https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7014e1.htm?s_cid=mm7014e1_w#suggestedcitation}