The body of a deceased patient is considered a health care worker treating individuals infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on December 30, 2020 at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, United States.
Callaghan O’Hare | Reuters
Coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, after heart disease and cancer, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the National Vital Statistics System, which examines and reports annual mortality statistics from death certificates, more than 3.3 million deaths were reported in the United States last year. Most deaths occurred in the weeks leading up to April 11 and December 26, the CDC found.
According to the study published on Wednesday, Covid-19 was listed as the root cause of 345,323 deaths. More Americans died in the process than accidental injuries, strokes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, and kidney disease.
Only heart disease and cancer killed more people than Covid-19 in the US in 2020 – heart disease killed 690,882 people and cancer killed 598,932.
Covid-19 replaced suicide in the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States, the study found.
“Preliminary death estimates provide an early indication of shifts in mortality trends and can guide public health policies and actions aimed at reducing the number of deaths directly or indirectly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic “write the researchers.
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