The Summary
- U.S. life expectancy jumped to 78.4 years last year, the highest it has been since 2019, before the pandemic.
- A decline in Covid deaths was a primary factor in the upward trend. Covid fell from the fourth-leading cause of death in 2022 to the 10th in 2023.
- Drug overdose deaths also decreased last year.
Yep. And the most vulnerable people are already dead, including several of my mentors and relatives.
We made the inevitable progress, the way a boulder rolls down a hill during a rock slide.
Oh well. I’m giving us a gold star for this, anyway. We need a win. We do deserve a round of COVID participation trophys, anyway.