COVID was the primary killer last year, but deaths from other diseases rose as well, and that’s unacceptable

If we needed any more proof about how unhealthy the American population is, and how bad the health care system is at addressing it, COVID-19 provided it. The lives taken by the virus itself made for the country’s deadliest year in history. But also contributing to the unfortunate milestone were increases in deaths from what have become some of the most chronic, yet preventable, diseases.