Updated
Dec 22, 2020
2020 Was The Deadliest Year In U.S. History
Deaths are expected to top 3 million for the first time, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mike Stobbe
NEW YORK (AP) This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic.
Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year, or at least 400,000 more than in 2019.
U.S. deaths increase most years, so some annual rise in fatalities is expected. But the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15%, and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted.