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U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters.

Life Health > Life Insurance > Term Insurance

U.S. May Have Suffered 16,500 Extra Deaths in June

By Allison Bell

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The very earliest U.S. mortality numbers suggest that the total number of deaths increased 8.7% between June 2019 and June 2023, to 206,862.

The June 2023 total was 20% higher than the average number of June deaths reported in early July from 2017 through 2019, before COVID-19 hit the United States, according to death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest influenza mortality chart data.

The CDC recorded an average of about 172,000 June deaths in comparable charts released from 2017 through 2019; 190,359 deaths in June 2019; and 230,261 deaths in June 2022.

The latest report means that the number of U.S. June deaths was about 24,000 lower than it was in the comparable CDC chart data in June 2022, but that it was more than 16,500 higher than the comparable death counts for June in the pre-pandemic era.

What It Means

Preliminary CDC numbers suggest that the total death rate from all causes continues to be high enough to be a concern for financial planners, life and annuity agents and others who are using pre-pandemic mortality and life expectancy statistics to advise clients.

The Data

The CDC compares the number of deaths caused by COVID-19, flu and pneumonia with the number of deaths from all causes to decide whether the country is in a respiratory disease epidemic.

Some states take longer to report deaths than others, and the CDC uses actual death counts reported “as of” a specific date, rather than adjusted or estimated numbers, to calculate the number of deaths that occurred during a given week.

That means that one factor that could affect comparisons is how quickly states were to report June deaths each year.

Another factor that could throw off comparisons is the aging of the U.S. population. The oldest baby boomers are turning 77 this year, and it’s possible that the number of deaths is increasing partly because the number of very old people is growing.

The CDC reported that COVID-19 caused 2,452 deaths in June 2023, and that pneumonia caused 11,413 deaths.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta. Credit: Katherine Welles/Shutterstock

Allison Bell

Think_Allison

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