Despite the numbers of deaths worldwide being available on the Internet, many continue to minimize the pandemic and its devastating effects all over the world. A recent study published by Oxford University brings us back to reality with a rather brutal conclusion: the last time such magnitudes of declines in life expectancy at birth were observed in a single year was during World War Two.
For this study, a total of 29 countries – spanning most of Europe, the US and Chile – were analyzed by scientists. In 27 of them, reductions in life expectancy were observed. As a matter of fact, the biggest decline was attributed to males, especially in the US, with a decline of 2.2 years relative to 2019 levels, followed by Lithuanian males with a decline of 1.7 years. Overall, men had more than a year shortened in 15 countries, compared to women in 11 countries. These results unfortunately show that Covid has wiped out years of progress on life expectancy.
(…) The fact that our results highlight such a large impact that is directly attributable to Covid-19 shows how devastating a shock it has been for many countries.
Dr Ridhi Kashyap, co-lead author
The study shares more specific details, such as the age groups that contributed most to the increase in mortality: in the United States, mainly among those of working age and under 60, while in Europe, mostly among people aged over 60. These data are alarming and prove that Covid is indeed a concern for all of us, and not an overrated crisis that doesn’t affect many people.
Find the full study here.
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Emma Suleiman
