Covid was responsible for 13 percent of all deaths in the U.S. in 2021, up from 10 percent the year prior.
ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in 2020, they dropped out of the top 10 in 2021. Meanwhile, suicide became the 10th leading cause of death last year, up from 12th the year prior.
Covid death rates in 2021 were highest among older Americans, men, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and American Indian and Alaska Native populations, according to the CDC report. Year over year, however, Covid death rates declined among Hispanic, Black and Asian people. The total number of Black Americans who died of Covid fell from 56,000 in 2020 to 55,000 in 2021. Meanwhile, Covid deaths among white people rose from 209,000 to 268,000.
Overall, racial and ethnic disparities in age-adjusted Covid death rates narrowed from 2020 to 2021, according to a. That report compared the death rates of various groups to that of multiracial people, who had the lowest rate in both 2020 and 2021. The results showed that the gap decreased for all groups except Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in 2021.
The researchers attributed this change to"the widespread impact of effective interventions, including vaccination."