Excess deaths on the rise as COVID-19 drops from top causes of death.

Life expectancy in the US declined from 77.0 to 76.1 years in 2021, the lowest level since 1996, and increased to 79.05 years in 2022. The Covid pandemic caused 1,159,580 excess deaths in the first two years, and the excess death rate for Republican voters was 76% higher than for Democratic voters. Gun violence killed 44,305 people and injured 38,567 in 2022, with more Americans dying of suicide than homicides. Maternal mortality rose by 40% during the pandemic, and drug overdoses caused nearly 500,000 deaths over two decades, with OxyContin as a major contributor.