The discomfiting reality of life expectancy: It’s about economics and opportunity

Life expectancy is down across the United States for the second year in a row — from an average of 77 years in 2020 to 76.1 years in 2021 — with much of the drop attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. But an even more troubling and persistent trend is evident in the data presented earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Black Americans are still expected to live much shorter lives than white, Asian and Hispanic Americans, with their average life span last year pegged at 70.8 years.