Life expectancy in the United States dropped an entire year in the first half of 2020 after a wave of coronavirus deaths swept the nation.
It fell from 78.8 years in 2019 down to 77.8 years in 2020. It’s the biggest drop since World War II.
The study shows minorities suffered worst with black people losing nearly three years and Hispanics almost two.
Meanwhile, the winter weather has either halted or delayed vaccine distribution in 34 states.
President Biden is pledging most Americans can get a shot by the end of July but says it could be longer before life begins to return to normal.
“By next Christmas, I think we’ll be in a very different circumstance, God willing, than we are today,” he said.
READ: What You Need to Know About the Leading Coronavirus Vaccines
Dr. Fauci taking a longer view: predicting a “degree of normalcy” by the start of 2022.
New virus cases and hospitalizations are down quite a bit in the past few weeks, but COVID has still claimed the lives of nearly half a million Americans.
And the pandemic continues to strain the economy, forcing unemployment applications to rise again in America.
The latest numbers from the Labor Department show 861,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week. That’s up about 13,000 from the week prior.
More than 18 million are receiving some sort of unemployment. With so many people suffering, Biden is appealing for lawmakers to support his $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill.
Vice President Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaking vote if needed due to Republican opposition in the Senate over the massive deficit spending in the plan.
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