COVID-19 cuts USA life expectancy
Blacks lost 3 years, Hispanics lost 2 years of life expectancy due to pandemic and the disproportionate toll it has taken on minority communities
The stunning conclusion of a CDC analysis of data from the first half of 2020 is that Americans’ life expectancy dropped by a full year due to COVID-19. But the real news is that life expectancy for Black Americans dropped by three years, and life expectancy for Hispanic Americans dropped by nearly two years. Most importantly, this reflects only the first half of 2020. COVID-19 got dramatically worse in the second half.
And other news:
The White House announced a $4 billion pledge to COVAX, the global COVID-19 vaccine initiative, saying that President Biden hopes this will spur other G7 nations to increase their participation in the program to equitably distribute vaccines, especially in low- and moderate-income nations. “This pandemic is not going to end unless we end it globally,” said a senior administration official, emphasizing that contributing to the global effort does not take resources away from controlling COVID-19 in the United States. About 190 countries are part of COVAX. The USA opted out last year.
“There is no credible evidence of food or food packaging associated with or as a likely source of viral transmission” of COVID-19,” said a joint statement by the FDA and USDA issued Thursday. Chinese authorities have blamed imported food as a possible source of the novel coronavirus.
Daily new cases are down more than 40% across the USA, according to CovidActNow.org. The seven-day average shows about 2,700 deaths each day, down from an average of more than 3,300 in mid-January. The rate of new cases has been trending down in 44 states. Only North Dakota and South Dakota continue trending up, according to Axios and other trackers. However, the Johns Hopkins tracker shows new cases trending down almost everywhere. California, Florida, New York and Texas continue to log more than 5,000 new cases.
Two men were arrested in Florida for claiming they were exempt from wearing masks because they were U.S. marshals. The men, who flashed “authentic appearing” badges, are charged with impersonating federal officers.