Study: COVID was third leading cause of death in 2020, 2021

Editor's Note

According to a study analyzing national death certificate data by researchers at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the US between March 2020 and October 2021, Healthcare Purchasing News (HPN) July 6 reports.

During this study period, COVID-19 accounted for 1 in 8 deaths (or 350,000 deaths, according to the release) in the US. Heart disease was the leading cause of death, followed by cancer; accidents and stroke were the fourth and fifth causes of death, respectively. “In every age group 15 years and older, COVID-19 was one of the top five causes of death during this period,” the article noted.

Here is a breakdown of the data between 2020 (March–December) and 2021(January–October), according to HPN:

• In 2020, COVID-19 was the fourth and fifth leading cause of death among people ages 45–54 and 35–44, respectively.
• In 2021, COVID-19 became the first and second leading cause of death in the above age groups.
• Among those 85 and older, COVID-19 was the second leading cause of death in 2020, but dropped to third in 2021, “likely because of targeted vaccination efforts in this age group.”

The full study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine on July 5 and can be accessed here.