The Black-white life expectancy gap grew in 2020 — but it can be reversed

Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 70,000 Black people died prematurely in 2019 compared to their white peers — on average, 190 people dying prematurely every day for a year. Covid-19 has likely made that worse. Due to a range of structural factors, Black people are disproportionately likely to get seriously ill and die from the disease. A recent study in PNAS found that the Black-white life expectancy gap grew by nearly a year and a half in 2020 due to the coronavirus, from 3.6 to 5 years.

In a recent Vox article, CBSSM's Dr. Melissa Creary was interviewed on the growing black-white life expectancy gap.