Covid Remained a Leading Cause of Death Among Americans in 2022

Why It Matters: More evidence that the pandemic is easing

The Covid death rate fell by almost half last year, as the age-adjusted figure dropped to 61.3 deaths per 100,000 persons from 115.6 per 100,000 persons in 2021. The data are proof that the pandemic’s toll eased considerably as 2022 wore on.

But the report’s authors noted that even now, Covid is killing Americans in large numbers.

“The death rate went down by a lot, but we also want to emphasize we’re not out of the woods here,” said Dr. Robert Anderson, the chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Statistics. “There are still a lot of people who died, and we’re still seeing deaths in 2023 as well.”

Nearly 35,000 people have died of Covid so far this year, he added. The number of total deaths in the United States is still higher than it was before the pandemic, which was 2.9 million, suggesting that Covid has had a broader effect on death rates generally. The outbreak led some people to defer health care, for example, and exacerbated other illnesses they might have had.

“We would expect some increase in the number of deaths because the population is aging, but this is far and above what we would have expected without the pandemic,” Dr. Anderson said.

Background: Men and older adults at risk

Men, adults age 85 or older and Native American or Alaska Native people were much more likely than other Americans to have died of Covid last year. By contrast, Asian Americans and children ages 5 to 14 had the lowest death rates.

Black Americans and Native American or Alaska Native people had the highest age-adjusted death rates from all causes. Death rates were lowest for multiracial and Asian individuals.

Compared with the early days of the pandemic, Covid was less likely to be lethal last year. It accounted for 76 percent of cases where it was listed on death certificates, compared with 90 percent during the first two years of the pandemic.

What’s Next: A new normal

The number of deaths caused by Covid is expected to continue to decline this year, but still could exceed 100,000, Dr. Anderson said: “It looks like the number will continue to decline, but it is still not trivial.”