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April 8 (UPI) -- New York City residents saw a significant drop in life expectancy during 2020 according to newly released health data. which experts believe is connected to COVID-19 deaths, The New York City Health Department said the data contained in its Annual Summary of Vital Statistics showed the average life expectancy of a resident dropped by nearly five years between 2019 and 2020, and that overall life expectancy across all demographics fell to 78 years.
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The officials also noted disparities in life expectancy among New Yorkers from different demographic groups.
"The pandemic also exacerbated existing inequalities," department officials said. "For example, life expectancy fell to 73 years among Black New Yorkers (down 5.5 years from 2019); and 77.3 years among Hispanic/Latino New Yorkers (down six years from 2019)."
Life expectancy of White New Yorkers also fell, decreasing by three years to 80.1 years.
"This report is an important record of what we've been through and all that we lost. It also reflects the importance of this moment," New York Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.
"New Yorkers' lifespans are falling, on top of years of relative flattening before COVID, and that cannot continue. It is the great challenge of our time, our city, and our Department to lay out an agenda for the next era of public health," he added.
Meanwhile, the latest data also showed that unintentional drug overdose rate continued to rise, jumping by 42.2% between 2019 and 2020.
The report noted that casualty rates in New York during 2020 surpassed the levels of the 1918 influenza pandemic.
